Star Fox: Recon
by Sheppard - Aggron24
Summary: 3 years after the Aparoids; Corneria has its first contact with a human. Befriending the newly expanding Star Fox team, the human convinces them to visit Earth; only to find out that war broke out between US and Russia. Can Star Fox handle war unlike anything they have ever fought? Or could things escalate? (Currently on temporary hiatus. Lack of inspiration on my part. :P)
1. The Call

"Unidentified spacecraft, you have entered Cornerian airspace, state your name and business." The sudden, loud transmission almost made Shaw fall out of his seat. Half asleep, he quickly slid over to the transmitter and turned his headset on.

"Tower, this is Darren Shaw, lead space exploration officer." Shaw was saying this out of impulse. He had a mission to meet up with the P43 space outpost station on the outskirts of the Milky Way. Along the way, his space plane had a calibration issue, and Shaw feared he was thrown off course. He was relieved to hear another voice, but he had no Idea who it was. The transmissions dock flared up again.

"Where are you from, Shaw?" The person talking was barking out these commands like a drill sergeant.

Shaw quickly responded, "New York Space Corporation, excursion 12."

"Hold on one second," The caller went silent for a few moments, then came back on, his attitude obviously had changed to a more welcoming tone. "New York… as in, the earth New York?"

Shaw curiously responded, "Yes sir. Is there something wrong?"

"Not at all," The caller's voice sounded excited "It's just strange, we've never had a visitor from earth before!"

Shaw started to panic. He questioned, "What do you mean you've never had an earth visitor? Where am I?"

"You're in the Lylat system," the person continued "If my calculations are correct, that's about 20 trillion light years away from your home world. You've come a long way from home, Shaw."

Shaw's jaw dropped. _20 trillion light years_, he thought. _That's a whole hell of a journey I've been on. I thought the station was only a few million light years away.._. He pushed on the receiver, "If it's alright with you, can I get an escort for a landing? I just need to get my bearings, that's all."

The controller laughed, "Alright, I'm sending two fighters your way. Don't do anything, let them do their job. If you make one sudden movement with your ship, you'll go up in flames. Understood?"

Shaw was quick to respond, "Affirmative." He sat back and looked out the window of his cruiser. He saw a giant blue planet, one that looked very similar to earth. _That must be that Corneria place the controller was talking about_, he thought. Seeing the bright blue reflection reminded him of his time in the ISS above Earth. As he sat back, he saw two light grey fighters hurtling towards him. The fighters got within 40 meters of his ship, then fired two large plasma cables into the hull of his ship. The fighters pulled forward, and his ship lurched with them.

What confused Shaw was the construction of these fighters. They were sleek, with two wings on either side of the cockpit. Nothing unusual there, but he was skeptical on the two bright green pods that looked like an extra set of vertical wings just at the connection point of the wings and the hull. As they entered the atmosphere, the pods and wings shifted slightly, and the fighters easily passed thought the atmosphere without sustaining any damage or malfunctions. _Their technology must be decades in advance_, Shaw thought. As they flew closer to the ground, Shaw picked up transmissions from the fighters and the control tower.

"Fighter 1, this is control, is the package in tow?" That familiar voice that he had heard prior was back on controlling the airspace.

A female voice responded, "Control, this is fighter 1, package in tow, descending into military airspace."

Shaw flushed. _Military airspace? Shit, what did I do_? The two fighters sped over to a large landing pad, about 100 meters from what looked to be the main terminal. The fighters drew close to the ground, slowed almost to a crawl, letting Shaw's ship touchdown first, before deploying the landing gear and dropping to the runway. Shaw unbelted, then walked to the window to see. What he saw reminded him of what he saw in Chicago when he was stationed there. Huge buildings tearing into the sky, with smaller buildings filling the empty spaces. Shaw hoped that this was the main city, because if it wasn't, it might pose a threat to cites back home in terms of size.

Shaw's transmissions dock flared up again, "Fighter 2, touchdown confirmed, unloading package now." Within seconds, a knock was heard on the main door. Shaw strapped on his pilots gear, consisting of a heavy, dark green jacket, and a small oxygen mask to keep him from suffocation. He unlatched the door, and looked at the pilot at his door. Shaw's heart skipped a beat as he saw who was at the door.

Standing there was what looked to be a large arctic fox; a long white muzzle protruding from his face, two long ears shooting out from his helmet, and a short, white tail standing straight up from just below his waistline. The pilot was wearing a tinted visor with his helmet, but he could still see the two bright blue eyes staring at him. He had a rifle slung over his back, and had his hand on a pistol that was holstered on his left leg. The pilot hesitantly took a few steps toward Shaw, and held out his right arm.

"Welcome to Corneria!"

* * *

><p><strong><span>UPDATE: AN: I may not say it a whole lot, but I WANT feedback on my stories, even if I don't ask for it. I'm asking now, and possibly might ask later on too, but please leave a review. Any feedback is good feedback in my opinion. If you have suggestions or any thoughts on the story whatsoever, feel free to write it down. After having this story up for a month now; the views I'm getting are pretty great, but the amount of reviews don't match up. I don't want to sound like an attention hog, I just would appreciate a bit more feedback than I have been getting. I work really hard on these chapters and it's kinda disheartening to see a lack of response to it. Anyway, enough of my rant. I hope you enjoy the rest of this story, and I do hope that you take some of these words to heart.**

**Take care everyone!**


	2. A Different Encounter

Shaw shook the very humanoid dog's hand, still intimidated by the other hand that was hovering around the gun at his leg.

Shaw spoke first, "Thank you, um… you guys sure look a bit different".

The pilot laughed, "I could say the same to you, too. This is the first time I've escorted a human into Cornerian atmosphere. First time escorting anyone, for that matter," He punched in a few buttons on his wristwatch, then continued, "Here, let me give you a ride to the terminal, my buddy's on his way to pick us up". He walked off the ramp towards his fighter, unloading some equipment He slipped his helmet off, revealing a full head of long, light grey hair. Shaw shook his head in disbelief at the creature. He grabbed a backpack filled with combat supplies and slung it over his shoulder. He was relieved that these 'creatures' weren't hostile. He still was a bit hesitant with the pilot. _One wrong move and he'll wipe the floor with me_, he thought. As he walked off the ramp of his ship, the pilot stopped him.

"You won't be needing that out here," He pointed to his oxygen mask. "Corneria's atmosphere has almost no differences compared to Earth. You'll be fine without it".

Shaw threw his mask onto his ship, and shut the door. He heard the engine of a car, and turned around to see a large truck, one that looked like his pickup truck back home.

The pilot approached him. "Hey, uh, Shaw was it?" Shaw nodded, the pilot continued, "You can throw your stuff in the back. All we're doing is taking you up to the terminal. We're gonna have you speak with our head official, that's all"

Shaw climbed in the back seat, the fox taking the wheel from his partner, and began to head toward a large, airport style building.

"So…" Shaw spoke awkwardly, "What is this place?"

The fox spoke up, "We are in Corneria City; the biggest city in the entire Lylat System." His voice reminded Shaw of the pilots that had worked with him in the northern states. Shaw curiously responded.

"System? Is this the only planet that can sustain life?"

"Actually, no," The white fox pulled out a map and handed it to Shaw. "There's at least five life-sustainable planets in our system. I'm not from here; I was actually born on a planet called Fichina."

Shaw found that planet on the map. It was a medium sized planet, entirely covered in a white and light blue mist. He also located other planets like Sauria, Venom, Papetoon, and Aquas; matching the names with the planet's size and colors. "This is incredible!" Shaw exclaimed.

"Glad you're fascinated by it. You can ask more questions inside; we're here." He parked the truck right next to the front doors. The white fox was the first one out, opening the door for Shaw. They escorted him through a maze of hallways, before finally stopping at the door of a conference room.

The fox knocked on the door, "Pepper? It's Sheppard! You wanted to talk to him?" He sounded like he was with a hostage. The door opened, and an old bloodhound in a wheelchair welcomed Shaw in. The fox waited outside the door.

Pepper spoke up. His voice was dry and harsh, and he looked like he was sick. "Welcome! The name is General Pepper. I'm in charge of this district of Cornerian airspace. I understand that you are from Earth. This is big news indeed; we've never had someone from Earth come out all this way for a visit!"

Shaw responded. "It's just as big of a shock for me too. I'm just utterly fascinated with everything that's happened so far."

Pepper smiled. "If you're that fascinated, how about I arrange you a tour of the city? Nothing huge, you're just going to visit some landmarks of the city. I can have Sheppard give you the tour".

The fox groaned from outside the door. He poked his head through the small opening in the doorway, "Aww really? I still have to patrol my side of the district!"

"Don't worry about it Sheppard," Pepper leaned back in his wheelchair. "We can just have someone else take your post for the rest of the day." He had a raspy coughing fit, then continued, "How about you guys start off at SD? You can have the rest of the day off, Sheppard."

"Great idea, sir; thanks!" Harvey grinned.

Pepper nodded, and he dismissed Shaw from the office. Sheppard had changed out of his pilot uniform into more street appropriate clothes while the two were talking. He had on a grey sleeveless shirt that was partly tucked into a pair of dark green, heavily worn out cargo pants. He had what looked to be a set of dog tags around his neck. His long, grey hair was slicked back behind his ears. The fox nodded at him, and he two walked down the hallway, towards the lot they left the truck at. Shaw spoke up as they were walking down the hall.

"Shepard, eh?"

He nodded, and pulled out a pocketbook from one of his pockets and handed it to him. Shaw opened it to see a small, golden badge with an insignia in the middle, the initials 'CDF' on the top, and a name on the bottom. On the top part, he saw an ID badge; picture and all. The ID told him all about his 'tour guide'.

"Full name is Harvey Shepard," he said happily. "Been working for the Cornerian Defense Force for 5 years now. I've worked up to commanding a ground squad, but we haven't had need for any ground missions since those damn Aparoids 3 years ago. I'm… basically here for a job right now." He looked at his watch, then continued, "I haven't heard much out of you in terms of who you are, mind if you elaborate a bit?"

Shaw smiled, "Of course! My name is Darren Shaw. I have the job as a scouter for the New York Space Corporation. I was sent out here to do some recon missions, but I wasn't expecting something like this!"

Harvey grinned. "May I ask, why were you sent out for recon missions 30 trillion light years away or whatever?"

Shaw shrugged. "I thought they were sending me to one of our far outposts. Miscalculation, maybe?"

Harvey busted up. "What kind of miscalculation leads you trillions of light years away from home?"

Shaw smiled. "Whatever it was, this is a lot more than I bargained for. I can't wait to show the guys back home". _If I get back home,_ he thought.

#####

The duo got into the truck, and Harvey pulled it out of the lot and out into traffic infested roads. He cursed, and slid down in his seat as they got stuck in a mad rush hour. Cars were locked up for miles, and they could not move at all. Shaw suddenly had an idea.

"Hey Harvey," he turned and looked at the human sitting in the passenger seat next to him. Shaw continued, "I hope it's not too much of a request, but when we're all done with this, and I get to go back home, would you want to accompany me on the journey back to earth? I'm sure my people would love to see you!"

Harvey's eyes opened wide, "I'd love to! Never been out of my home system before. Plus, you said your culture is similar to ours, so it won't be a big shock for me."

Shaw grinned, "Oh, you have no idea".

Harvey laughed, then grabbed at his muzzle. "I have a potential idea also."

Shaw looked puzzled, "And what is this idea you're thinking of?"

"Not just me, but my entire squadron can give you a lift back home. Just you, my team, and I'll see if I can get Star Fox in on this deal".

Shaw raised an eyebrow, "Star Fox? Never heard of them".

Harvey's jaw dropped. "Seriously?! You've never heard of- wait, never mind. You're not from here," Harvey spoke under his breath, "Gotta stop doing that man; quit jumping to conclusions like that!" He picked his head up and continued, "Star Fox is the most well-known military group in the Lylat system. I really shouldn't call them a military group, they're more or less a mercenary group that has its ties with the CDF. They consist of the best combat specialists and fighter pilots in the galaxy. They've saved Lylat on more times than I can think of".

Shaw was fascinated with this group. "You a part of them, Harvey?"

Harvey scoffed. "I wish. They haven't added any members in years. I'm good friends with the team's mechanic, but they don't really take his word on potential members".

"Sorry to hear that," Shaw said, trying to comfort him. "I'm sure you'll get in there someday."

Harvey glanced down, "I sure hope you're right…" His watch buzzed, and he quickly glanced up to see what it was. "Hold on a sec, getting a call," He reached into the glove box of the truck and pulled out an earpiece, and slipped it on over the top of his ear. He pressed the button on the side of it, then spoke.

"Sheppard." Cornerian military always answer messages starting with their last name. This prevents potential confusion between military groups and civilian transmissions. Harvey slid back in his seat, smiling, "Oh hey Falco, What's up?"

"Did you hear about that escort earlier today?" Falco practically shouted this to Harvey.

Harvey quickly responded, "Yeah, I was one of the escor- wait… How did you hear about the escort?"

"It was on the news just now. Said something about a human coming into Cornerian airspace."

Harvey shot forward, "Why the hell would they put that on national TV? Do you realize how many people are going to flock to Corneria City now that they know a human is here?" Shaw shifted awkwardly in his seat.

"Don't worry Harvey, you did the escort. You don't have to deal with him anymore," Falco stated calmly.

"Um… Falco," Harvey said quietly "I'm still with him. He's in my truck."

"Oh shit, seriously? Dude! You should take him over to the Great Fox! We'd love to meet him!"

"Well I'd love to, but I'm stuck in traffic at the moment." He glanced out the window to see a massive grey ship make its way toward the landing pad. The ship had four large wings protruding from the large base, and three colossal thrusters shooting out the back of the ship. Shaw was intrigued by the two large tubes sticking out just below the bridge, and the strange looking emblem on the dorsal wing.

"Alright," Falco sighed, "We just landed. We're here for a few hours for maintenance, anywhere you want us to meet up?"

Harvey leaned back down, "Yeah, we're headed for Space Dynamics. Meet us there?"

Falco responded quickly, "Already on our way. See you there Harvey!" There was a click, then silence from the other end.

Harvey turned and faced Shaw, "Alright, I got good and bad news. Good news first; you're about to meet the Star Fox team."

Shaw's eyes opened wide. "Seriously? Awesome! But uh… what's the bad news?"

Harvey sighed and glanced down. "Everyone on Corneria knows you're here."


	3. Failed Mission

Harvey pulled the truck into the lot of the giant Space Dynamics building. Before getting out, Harvey spoke to Shaw.

"Just stick with me. It's easy to get lost in this building."

Shaw nodded, and the two walked through the main doors. A security guard stopped Shaw at the elevator.

"Woah, wait a second," The security guard was tall and had a heavy, deep voice. "Who are you?"

Harvey quickly intervened, "Its fine Joe, he's with me." The guard grunted, and he allowed Shaw to step in the elevator.

"Sorry about that," Harvey apologized, "Security has tightened up here since the incident with the Aparoids. They don't take kindly to visitors anymore."

The elevator door opened into a vehicle bay. Five different fighters were being worked on by Cornerian engineers. Harvey walked over to one of the workers, a short, red fox-like creature with long, dark red hair.

"Harvey!" the fox yelled, jumping at him, giving him a huge hug. Shaw could tell immediately that the animal was female because of the high pitched shriek. "What are you doing here? You know I don't get off until after 6."

Harvey smiled, "I know, I just have someone here that I think you would like to meet". He stretched out his arm towards Shaw, who was leaning against the wall looking at his phone.

She looked at the human, then back at Harvey. "Is that…"

Harvey laughed. "Yes, that's him."

The female fox quickly rushed over to Shaw. "Hi!" she said to him, unable to control her excitement. "You must be Darren Shaw; the human, right?"

Shaw nodded, and stretched out his hand. She quickly grabbed his hand and shook it vigorously. Shaw spoke, holding his hand, "Strong grip." She laughed as Shaw continued, "How'd you know who I was?"

"It was just on the radio a few minutes ago. Said something about the first human to come in contact with Corneria."

"Ah," Shaw changed the subject, "I apologize, but are you-"

She cut him off, "Madison Reynard. Space Dynamics engineer."

Shaw smiled, "That's what I thought. You're Harvey's friend, right?"

Madison replied, "Of course! Harvey and I have been friends for forever."

Harvey nodded. "It's true. We joined the academy together." He wrapped his arm around her. "And I wouldn't just go with saying 'friends'."

Madison blushed. "Yes, thank you Harvey." Harvey walked away laughing uncontrollably after she jabbed her elbow into his ribcage.

"Anyway," Shaw said, wiping the smile off of his face, "Harvey brought me here as part of his involuntary tour for me. Would you mind telling me a little about… this?" he looked around the room, implying he wanted to know about everything.

Madison nodded. "This is Space Dynamics headquarters. This is where we build all of the CDF's equipment and transportation methods. Consider it like a car production factory on Earth, only with space fighters."

Shaw pointed to one of the fighters. "I know that those things are the fighters, but what are those green tubes on the sides of the cockpit? I saw those during my escort, but I never got the opportunity to ask what they are for."

Madison quickly responded. "Those are what we call 'G-diffusers'. They practically eliminate all G forces felt within the cockpit during flight. This allows for better movements with no issues to the occupants whatsoever."

"Impressive!" Shaw was visibly entertained. "Our Earth space shuttles would be so much better if we had that technology".

Harvey broke in, looking at his watch. "Message from Fox, He's on his way up. I'm still amazed we beat him here." Harvey looked at Shaw. "You maybe want to get a change of clothes while we wait?"

"Yeah," Shaw gestured at his backpack, "I got a spare set in here."

Madison yelled from her station, "Room is the second door on the left." Shaw disappeared through the doorway right when the elevator door opened.

"Harvey! How ya doing?" The voice emanated from the elevator shaft. He turned around to see Fox whacking his shoulder with his forearm. Fox wasn't dressed in his usual attire; he was wearing a more laid back outfit. He had a white t-shit on with some old training pants that had numerous holes on the sides. He was also wearing a baseball hat, something ordinary Cornerian civilians often did.

"Hey Fox. You just missed him." Harvey smirked.

"Huh?" Fox looked at him funny. "What do you mean I missed him?"

Madison fought back laughter, "Harvey!" She glanced at Fox "He's in the locker room, Fox."

"Great," He sat down on the couch in the corner of the room. "By the way, Falco and Krystal are here, they're just talking with the receptionist. They'll be up in a second".

"So the gang's all here eh?" Harvey grinned.

"Well of course!" Fox sat forward, "Not only do they want to meet your new friend, they don't want to miss the announcement."

Harvey tilted his head, "What announcement?"

Fox smiled, "Something you'll enjoy; trust me. You can take my word on it."

#####

Shaw quickly undressed his flight suit and changed into his civilian clothes. As Shaw is from New York, he had on a New York Rangers shirt, along with some denim jeans, and a thin, black jacket with the NYSC logo on the right sleeve. As he threw on the jacket, his phone that he had set on the bench buzzed, and an e-mail notification was on the screen. It was addressed to Shaw from the CEO of NYSC, the company that sent him on his excursion. He smiled as he opened the message.

"Why haven't you docked?" The message read, "You were supposed to engage with the P43 station at the edge of the Milky Way 12 hours ago. If you are still alive and out there, please send me your coordinates so we can possibly get you on the right track. We can't afford another failed mission. –Jacks"

Shaw looked at the date. _That message was sent over a week ago! I really need to get a better service plan_, he chuckled. He instantly hit the reply icon and began to respond to him.

He typed, "Sorry for the delay Mr. Jacks. You really don't get much phone service out in space. All jokes aside, I have not docked at the station. From where I am right now, I have no idea where the station is. However, I've discovered something amazing. I've managed to come across another planetary system; one that has a fully developed ecosystem. There is actually a full scale species down here, and a highly developed communication system. I say this because they actually speak fluent English! I've attached a recording of the transmissions exchanged with one of the locals on my way to landing on this planet. The atmospheric conditions of this planet are nearly identical to Earth's, as well as the water and air quality. If that's not enough to convince you, the place that I am located at is an amazing architecturally advanced city. I would compare it to the size and scale of Chicago. I will fill you in on more details as they become available to me. I plan on returning in the next few days, if possible. –Shaw"

He tapped 'send', and packed everything into his backpack. He walked out of the room and down the hallway towards where the Cornerians had left him. He heard the sounds of metal grinding and the faint trace of laughter. Shaw slipped his USP out of his backpack and put it in one of his pockets. _Just to be safe_, he thought.

"Speaking of which, there he is!" Harvey rushed over to Shaw, "Star Fox is here, go introduce yourself."

Shaw walked over to an average sized fox with a light brown coat of fur. His ears were sticking out of the slits in the small hat he was wearing. The fox stretched out his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Name is Fox McCloud; leader of Star Fox."

Shaw shook his hand, chuckling to himself. _Fox. Real original name_.

Shaw told Fox who he was and what he does. In the middle of the introduction, a large blue bird-like creature snuck up behind Fox.

"Hey Foxie!" the bird shouted, startling Fox. He turned to the human, laughing. "Harvey here told me about you, but you don't know me," He held out a large wing, "Falco Lombardi, ace pilot on Star Fox."

Shaw shook his hand, then smiled. "I heard you got into a pretty heated phone conversation a while ago."

"Well I wouldn't call it heated," Falco laughed, "I was… just a little excited, that's all."

Madison shouted over by her fighter, "Yeah that happens all the time."

"Hey!" Falco shot back, "No need for sarcasm over there!" Madison laughed, the continued work on her fighter.

Harvey spoke up. "So Fox, you said you had an announcement?"

Fox looked up at Harvey, who had a good four inches on him in terms of height, "Right! Almost forgot. So Harvey, Peppy and I have been talking, and I think both of us agree on this." Fox sighed, then took out a small badge, a hint of excitement buried in his eyes. "We'd like you to join the Star Fox team."

Harvey stood there, speechless. After years in the military, he was finally asked to join Star Fox. A once in a lifetime opportunity was put before him, and all he could do was stand there with his mouth hanging open.

Fox laughed. "Not just you Harvey, but some others too. We also want Madison to join in, and we've already received a confirmation message from Jay, your squadron leader."

Harvey finally fought through his excitement and spoke. "You can count me in Fox. I won't let this opportunity go to waste."

Harvey and Fox shook hands, then Fox turned to look at Madison, still preoccupied in fixing the fighter that was suspended five feet in the air.

"Yo, Madison! You want to join Star Fox?" There was no response over the loud grinding of metal. He smiled at Harvey, then yelled, "Harvey just joined!"

Madison instantly threw her welder on the table. "Sign me up!" She yelled, then instantly going back to work on the fighter.

Harvey laughed, "At least you hired someone who is diligent."

Fox smiled, looked at his watch, and then yelled, "The Great Fox's repairs are done, let's move out!" He turned to Harvey, "You coming aboard?"

Harvey gave him a pat on the shoulder, "Why would I be late for the first day on the job?"

Fox grinned, then they all filed out of the garage and into the large elevator. "Shaw, you too!"

Madison grabbed Shaw's arm as she walked to the elevator. "Why do you need me aboard?" Shaw questioned.

Fox turned towards him and smiled, "We're taking you home."


	4. Accomodations

There was a faint click, then a loud, screeching sound as the main hangar door to the Great Fox opened. Shaw gazed at the massive flagship that was docked in CDF landing space. He quickly realized that this ship was the ship he saw when Harvey was stuck on the interstate. Fox was the first one through the hangar door, followed by Falco and Krystal; a blue vixen-like creature that Shaw met on the way to the airfield. Harvey and Madison followed closely.

Fox turned his head to Falco, "Is Jay already on board?"

Falco turned on his eyepiece and punched in a few buttons on the side of his headgear. "Yeah, he and Peppy were the first ones here when the repairs were complete."

"Good. Hey Krystal, can you show Harvey and Madison their room?"

She nodded, "Sure thing. This way guys." She led them to the main hallway and turned left at the cross section. The others turned right and walked down the long corridor. Fox suddenly stopped at one of the doors, and put his head up against it. He could hear a faint rustling sound inside the room.

"Isn't that your room Falco?" Fox asked.

Falco nodded, and pulled out an ID card and swiped it on the receiver. The door slowly opened, and Falco looked inside to see a large, red cardinal sitting at the desk in the corner of the room. He had a dark vest over his flight suit, and his long head feathers were scattered in all directions. He was looking at a pile of papers, flipping through them quickly.

Fox sighed, "It's just Jay. What are you doing here anyway?"

Jay spun around, "Oh hey guys! Just looking through some archives, that's a-". He stopped short at the sight of Shaw. Jay stood up and walked over to him. "Aren't you the human that just landed here?"

Shaw smiled, "Indeed I am." He stretched out his hand, "Darren Shaw. Yes I'm the guy from Earth."

Jay instantly shook his hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you!" His voice reminded Shaw of some of his Canadian coworkers in the Air Force. The bird started to walk away, then quickly turned back around. "Sorry, where are my manners? My name is Jay Falkner. I had the opportunity of working as one of the head commanders of the CDF, until Fox here asked me to join Star Fox. I just couldn't say no," he laughed.

Falco had found his way to his bed and sat down on it. Fox still stood in the doorway, with Shaw leaning up against the wall next to him. Jay sat back down on the chair as he spoke, "Slip said that I could bunk with you Falco. That cool with you?"

Falco leaned forward, "Not a problem," he glanced over to Fox, "Just so you know, Fox has this rule about noise after a certain hour so people can get some sleep, even though he doesn't follow it himself."

Fox raised his eyebrow, "What are you talking about Falco?"

Falco smirked, "Seriously? You don't remember that one night?" Fox still looked puzzled. Falco sighed, "I think it was about four years ago, right after I came back to Star Fox after the Sauria incident. That was the first time Krystal came aboard after you saving her."

"I remember that," Fox scoffed, "I just don't understand this 'noise violation' thing."

"Didn't you give her a place to stay afterwards?" Falco smirked. Even Jay who had been sitting at the desk tried to hide his sheepish grin.

Fox replied, "Yeah, I let her bunk with me because we only had the four rooms. That was before we got the renovation approved."

"That's exactly what I'm getting at Foxie," Falco smiled. Jay tried to keep himself from laughing. Even Shaw had the faint trace of a smile smeared on his face. Falco continued, "What I'm saying is that it's ironic that you came up with the 'curfew' when you were the one messing around with her in there!"

Jay instantly exploded with laughter. Fox could feel the blood rushing to his face. "No I was not!" he quickly responded.

Falco was fighting through laughter, "Oh really? Why don't you ask the rest of the ship? I'm pretty sure everyone on board heard you barking and yiffing in there."

Shaw doubled over laughing. Jay was on the bridge of hysteria and had partially fallen out of his seat. Fox shook his head and closed the door behind him. He could hear the eruptions of laughter in Falco's room that could only be compared to the detonation of a bomb. He walked over to the other side of the ship and to the guest room that would serve as both Harvey and Madison's quarters. He walked in and saw Harvey unpacking his bag, Madison and Krystal were sitting on the bed talking to each other. Krystal saw Fox walk in and jumped over to see him.

"Hey Fox," Krystal smiled, then instantly frowned, "What's wrong?"

"Ah, it's nothing, really." Fox grabbed at the back of his neck. He instantly heard Krystal's voice in his head.

_Were they talking about your sex life?_ Krystal has a telepathic ability. She was able to talk to people using her thoughts, and was able to read other's thoughts as well. She used this to her advantage while flying, because she was able to track the enemy's flight patterns; or in this case, get involved in other's personal business.

Fox grabbed at his muzzle._ Really? You too?_ He thought back. She giggled as he went to help Harvey with his bags.

Harvey spoke as he lifted his large carbine rifle from his bag, "So you said we were taking Shaw home?"

"Yup" Fox nodded, "I'd say with the coordinates that we received from Shaw's ship, it'll take us a week at least to get all the way out there."

Harvey groaned. Madison spoke up, "It may take a while, but it will definitely be worth it."

Fox looked at his watch, "You guys better unpack fast; we're taking off in the morning. Better get some sleep before then." He walked out with Krystal following close behind.

They stopped by Falco's room, all three of them still beat red from laughter. Fox nudged Shaw, who was still leaning on the wall near the door.

"Forgot to tell you, we got the coordinates from your ship for Earth. If the calculations are correct, we'll be in Earth's airspace in about a week."

Shaw nodded. "I'll need to send a message to NYSC, tell them not to fry our asses once we get within range."

Fox smiled, "That'd be great. You'll need to do it soon though; messages can't get through during warp travel. We have a computer you can use, follow me."

Shaw followed Fox down the long hallway. He stopped and gave Krystal a kiss when they passed by their room. Shaw spoke as the door shut behind her.

"Forgive me if I sound a bit nosey, but are you and Krystal-"

Fox cut him off, "I know what you are about to ask, and yes we are in a relationship. As a matter of fact, we got married about six months ago."

"Congrats!" Shaw patted his back, "I guess this trip to Earth must be fate. Consider this trip you guys' honeymoon."

Fox smiled, "Well I would, but I already promised a friend of mine that we would go to his home world for it. He helped me save an entire planet years ago, I need to repay him somehow."

"That is true. Gotta repay the favor one way or another." Shaw's eyes widened as he spoke again, "Did I ever tell you what I did before… this?"

Fox shook his head. Shaw continued, "I was a pilot for the U.S Air Force for 5 years. I just remembered that your group was focused mainly on aviation warfare, so I thought you may want to know that."

Fox scratched his head, "Do you have any experience with an Arwing?" he asked.

"A what?" Shaw raised an eyebrow.

"Our fighter. Custom designed by my father, and mass produced by Space Dynamics. They are the staple fighter of the CDF. We fly heavily modified versions; faster, more efficient, sleeker, pretty much everything is better compared to the CDF versions."

"I'll have to try them out." They stopped at the door to the transmissions room. Fox directed him to a small computer up against the wall nestled in between two large transmissions docks.

"You can contact your group here," Fox said. He yawned, then continued, "I'm gonna get some sleep. Just making sure you know this, your quarters are right next to mine. We launch in the morning, so keep that in the back of your mind. See ya Darren!"

Shaw was surprised that Fox called him by his first name. He waved back, "Night Fox!" and the door shut behind his tail. Shaw grabbed his phone, and plugged it into the computer. He then proceeded to write a message to Jacks.

All Shaw wrote was one line: "I'm coming home, and I'm bringing back some company."


	5. The Launch

"Great Fox, this is Tower 1, are all systems optimal?" the air controller spoke. Fox was quick to respond.

"Tower 1, Great Fox thrusters are go, awaiting further instructions." The main gate's doors opened, and Jay walked in, still rubbing his eyes. The feathers on his head were scattered erratically, and he was only wearing a white tank-top with his fighter pants still on. He walked over to Fox, who was preoccupied with the impending launch.

"Need help with that?" Jay questioned. Jay knew that Fox was a bit shaky with takeoff, and his advisors at the CDF told him that he was phenomenal with anything he controlled. Fox obliged, and let Jay take over the controls.

Jay slipped his headset on, "Tower 1, there's a change in command, shall we engage?"

The controller instantly recognized the voice. He exclaimed, "Jay! When did you start controlling the Great Fox?"

"Just got employed yesterday. This is my first launch with this thing. I'm kinda nervous to be honest."

The controller responded, "Well, good luck out there bud! You're clear for launch."

"10-4. Takeoff initiated," Jay eased on the controls, and gently lifted the Great Fox into the air. He gradually became more comfortable with the large ship, and in no time flat was piloting the cruiser with ease. He came within 200 meters of the orbital gate, which was just out of Cornerian airspace, and fired up his transmissions.

"Orbital Gate, this is Falkner; currently operating the Great Fox 200 meters west of your current location. I have sent in coordinates to our desired destination, awaiting approval."

A few seconds passed, then a calm, light voice came back over, "Great Fox, destination approved. Firing up the gate now." As the gate was getting warmed up, the controller came back on, "I don't recognize these coordinates, where are you headed?"

Jay responded, "Heading to Earth. We have the human on board that landed here yesterday. Taking him home, I guess."

"10-4, gate is now open, you may proceed. Good luck out there."

Jay throttled forward, and shot through the gate. The gate allowed for travel that broke the barriers of light travel. They could be millions of light years away in a matter of hours. Because Earth was so far away, they had some time to kill on the ship. Jay let go of the controls and turned to the Great Fox's automated pilot.

"You can take over ROB," The robot acknowledged, and began to regulate the ship. Jay turned to Fox, his face obviously showed he was impressed with Jay's handling of the ship.

Fox put his hand on Jay's exposed shoulder, "Not bad Falkner. Would've never guessed it was your first time flying her."

Jay shrugged, "Flying just comes naturally to me. I've always wanted to be a pilot when I was younger, I'm just doing what I wanted to do."

Madison found her way onto the bridge. She had thrown on one of Harvey's shirt, which was massive on her small frame.

"Aww, did I miss the launch?" She whined.

"Sorry about that," Fox smiled, "We had to move our launch earlier because they had someone booked on our time slot."

Madison grunted, "Who took our spot? I thought Peppy booked that spot ages ago."

"I did too," Fox looked down at his watch, "Want to grab some food?"

"I'm down!" Jay exclaimed. They all filed out of the bridge and down to the heart of the Great Fox, where the kitchen was located. They walked in to see Shaw and Slippy talking at one of the tables.

"Hold on," Shaw was wide eyed, "You're saying YOU designed most of the stuff you guys use in combat?"

Slippy nodded, "All me. The only thing I didn't mess with is the Great Fox herself. I'm not allowed to make any performance adjustments; that's SD's job."

"That's incredible!" Shaw exclaimed. Fox sat down in the seat to Shaw's left, Madison found a seat on the end of the small table. Jay was up ordering food.

"I take it that launch was successful?" Shaw asked, taking a bite of his food.

Fox nodded. "Should take a few days until we arrive in Earth's airspace. You sent the message, correct?"

"Yup. No problems at all. We should be ok for a clean welcoming. Oh, would it be alright if I took over the radio comms when we get there? I think they'd be more welcoming to a human talking back to them; no offense."

Fox thought for a second. "You're not wrong, I'll give you that. Sure; just don't make them think we're hostile. The last thing I want is to be taken as a threat," he laughed.

"Well, just as long as you don't tell them what you do for a living. Pretty sure they would flip out at your line of work."

Jay found an open seat next to Shaw, his tray was loaded with all sorts of food that Shaw had never seen or heard of before. Jay slid a sandwich over to Fox, "Thought you might want this," he grinned.

"Awesome! Thanks!" Fox took a large bite from the sandwich. Madison giggled.

"You'd think you were starving for a week with how you're eating that."

Fox shrugged. Jay looked over to Shaw. "Hey Shaw, I found some archives of your time in the military last night. Says here you're quite the shooter. Mind if you demonstrate for us at the range?"

Shaw tilted his head, "This ship has a shooting range?"

Jay nodded. Madison broke in, "Mind if I join you guys? I could use some touching up too."

Fox, who had scarfed down his sandwich in seconds, piped up, "I'll take you guys down there. See ya Slip."

Slippy waved as the four walked out of the room and towards the firing range down the hall. Madison stopped at her room and came out with a large rifle that was almost as tall as she was, giggling as she closed the door.

Jay smiled, "Is Harvey in there or am I hearing one of the engines?"

Madison grunted, "Try sleeping in the same room with him." Shaw meanwhile had found his way to his room and unpacked his compact carbine he had taken along with him. It wasn't a Cornerian manufactured weapon, so it still fired the metal rounds used on Earth. Fox looked at the weapon with an eyebrow raised when they walked into the range.

"What the hell is that?" Fox asked. Shaw lifted the weapon up to his chest, inspecting it.

"This is my little toy. ACR-17, American made technology. Most U.S. Special Forces use this kind of weapon. Mine has a custom scope and an adjustable stock."

"Can I take a look?" He handed the weapon to Fox. He held it up in the proper stance, but he felt awkward with it because of the back stock; something Cornerian assault rifles lacked. Fox pointed the gun down, "I could get behind something like this. What does it fire?"

Shaw pulled out a half-inch metal round from his pocket. Fox stepped back at the sight of it, eyes wide open. "Holy shit, that's scary as hell!"

Shaw laughed, "And these are the smaller ones. Just wait 'till you see a 50 cal bullet."

Fox shook his head, and walked to one of the lanes. He pulled out his handgun from its holster and instantly shot three bright blue beams towards the target. All three hit dead on the mark. Shaw stood with his mouth open.

"What was that? What the hell just came out of your gun?"

Fox laughed, "High energy plasma beams. They run on nuclear technology. It's much more efficient than hard ammunition."

"And you thought my bullets were scary!"

Jay opened the lane next to Fox's, "All yours Shaw, let's see what you got."

Shaw lifted up his rifle to the target. He waited a few seconds, then opened fire. A loud, echoing blast emanated from the weapon as five shots rocketed out and struck the target. All five shots came within millimeters of each other, all hitting the target precisely.

Fox stood behind him, his ears ringing from the blast. He spoke loudly to compensate for the temporary hearing loss, "That thing loud enough?"

Madison spoke up, leaning against the wall. She had her hand up to her ear, trying to soothe the ringing. "Next time, at least give us a warning."

Shaw laughed, "It may be loud, but it's sure as hell accurate."

Jay clapped, "That was impressive! Not too many people know how to shoot a fully automatic rifle with such precision anymore."

"Where we're going," Shaw set the rifle down, "There's an army hundreds of thousands strong that can do the same thing I just did."


	6. Preparations

"Got a message from Shaw," A man in a black suit said at his desk. His voice was deep, but smooth.

Another person stood in the doorway. "And?" he asked hesitantly.

"He's coming back."

"What?"

"According to what he sent me the other day, he landed in a completely different galaxy, and there's an entire civilization out there. From what he just sent me today, he's bringing back company.

The other man shuffled his feet. "What's this 'other civilization' he's bringing back with him?"

Jacks cleared his throat, "He didn't say. They could be like us for all we know."

"Should I send any messages to anyone?"

Jacks picked his head up, "Already taken care of. We've got F-18's on standby, and most of the main cities in and around the eastern seaboard have issued a tightened security protocol. We've already got the President secured. It's just a matter of when they get here."

"What makes you so sure that these creatures he's with have the potential of being hostile?"

Jacks sighed, "I'm not doing this to be ready in case of potential hostility. I'm doing this to be safe."

"From them? Or from us?"

"Not necessarily us, but our opponents." He paused, "The Russians will do anything to get under our skin. Throw the group Shaw's bringing home into the mix, and you've got the potential for a war. I can't let that happen to our country… Not again…"

The man looked out the window. "So what are your plans for Shaw's party?"

"It's simple; get on their good side. If we can impress them and get them on our side, that could be a game changer in terms of power. If the Russians or anyone else acquire their technology and resources, its game over for us."

The man nodded. "Anything else you want me to do, Mr. Jacks?"

"As a matter of fact, yes." Jacks stood up and walked over to the doorway, handing the person a note. "Have the NYPD on standby. Have them set up a half-mile perimeter around the landing strip. Not the street officers, but the heavily equipped troops. See if they can mobilize the National Guard too."

The man nodded, "Don't you think you're overdoing this a bit?"

Jacks shook his head, "If it's for the good of this country," he turned and faced the window, "There is no measure too overprotective."

The man walked out, and Jacks found his way back to his desk. He picked up the phone and punched in a few numbers. He heard the dial tone for a few seconds, and then a click. A soft, feminine voice came on the other end.

"Shaw residence."

Jacks' tone became friendlier. "Jenny? It's Jacks."

Jenny's voice instantly changed. "Hi, uh, you've never… called me before. What's up?"

Jacks leaned back, "I'm currently looking at a message from your husband."

"What?!" Jenny practically screamed. "Is he ok?"

Jacks laughed, "He's just fine. In fact, he's never felt better."

"Wait, I thought you said you guys lost contact with him a week ago? Where is he?"

Jacks spoke slowly, "According to his message, he completely overshot the station, and wound up in some distant galaxy. Before you freak out, listen to this: he said he found a completely new civilization in this place. He also said that they are taking him back home shortly."

Jenny was ecstatic, "Wow! Did he say when?"

"No; based on what we can deduce from his last known location, it could take a few weeks."

She sighed, "As long as I know that he's still alive and well, I'll wait as long as I have to."

Jacks smiled, "That's good to know. We've got the airspace monitored 24/7, so as soon as we see something, we'll let you know."

"Thank you, Jacks. See you then, I guess." There was a click, then silence. Jacks put the phone down. He sighed, and let his head fall into his hands. He ran his hands through his short, dark hair and stared out the window. He whispered to himself as he gazed at the skyscrapers lining the streets.

"Dammit Shaw… you are making this job a hell of a lot more difficult for me."


	7. Games

Shaw was down in the main room, sitting on the chair with his computer. He was watching a Rangers game that he had missed due to his launch. Harvey walked into the room and knelt down next to him.

"What's that?" He questioned, pointing to the screen.

"Just catching up on some hockey games I missed." Shaw looked at Harvey's confused expression and continued, "Do I need to give an explanation?"

Harvey shook his head, "I've played for a few years. In fact, I actually played with Fox a few years back. He's something else, I'm telling ya!"

Shaw closed his laptop, "Didn't I see a rink here while we were looking around?"

Harvey nodded, grinning. "Are you suggesting…"

Shaw smiled, "Tell Fox to meet me down there. I need to show him a few things."

Harvey laughed, and stood up, "It might be the other way around, not gonna lie."

Shaw smirked, and followed Harvey out into the hallway, he stopped at his room and rifled through his bag. Shaw found a thin, composite tube with a button on the side. He pressed it, and the blade of a hockey stick shot out of the bottom of the tube. He pulled out a pair of heavily padded gloves and slipped them on his hands. Shaw made his way over to the rink, which he found was colder than he had originally expected. As Shaw was tying his skates, Fox walked into the rink, already equipped with a partial set of padding; gloves, some thin, almost invisible elbow and shin pads, and a helmet that had special slots for his ears. He had on a dark blue hooded sweatshirt, and some heavy, dark pants. He smiled at the sight of Shaw.

"Nice to know that I may find some competition," He smirked. He pulled out a stick from the closet in the corner of the room and began to test the flex of the stick.

"You can thank Harvey for this."

"Right!" Fox glanced at Shaw, still tying his skates. "Harvey will be down with us in a few. He had to find his gear first."

"Awesome." Shaw stood up, "You ready, Foxie?"

Fox slammed his stick on the floor, "As ready as I'll ever be."

Shaw stepped on the ice and skated a few laps around it. He slid to a stop next to Fox, who had already taken a few warm up measures. He spoke up, "You got any ideas?"

Fox shrugged, "Just show me what you got." He pulled out a small, black puck and threw it to Shaw. Shaw took off with it and flew full speed down the ice. He got to the top of the faceoff dot, let the stick fall back behind him, and wristed the puck square into the top right corner. Fox tapped his stick on the ice.

"Not bad Shaw," He shouted from the other end. "Now watch a professional." Fox shot out from behind the other net, handling the puck in ways Shaw had never seen before. His speed was unrivaled between anyone he's ever seen. Fox got right about to where Shaw shot, and fired one off the crossbar and in. The sound it made echoed in the small rink. Shaw stood dumbfounded.

"How… Where did you learn to do that?"

Fox laughed, "Just comes naturally for me."

Harvey came in with the same gear Fox had. He stepped on the ice and slid over to center ice. He shouted over to the two, "You got room for a third?"

Fox yelled back, "Show me what you did a few years back, bud."

Harvey took off with the puck. He was significantly slower than Shaw, but still had phenomenal puck handling. He passed the blue line, and wound up; blasting a shot that came within inches of Fox's private region. Fox shouted at him.

"I'm glad your aim with a gun is better than your aim with a stick."

Harvey laughed, "Sorry Fox; I'm not a shooter, you know that."

Fox slowly skated over to the bench; Shaw pursuing. He lightly smacked Fox's backside with his stick. "Anyone else play on this ship?"

Fox popped up on the boards. "Krystal does… somewhat. Falco hates the cold, so he's a scratch." He turned and glanced at Harvey, "Yo Harv, does Madison play?" he shouted.

Harvey shook his head, "I wish. Been trying to get her hooked for months." He fired a puck off the glass behind the net. He cursed as he slammed his stick on the ice.

"So, nobody plays goaltender?" Shaw questioned.

Fox looked up, "One of our previous members did when he was with Star Fox. Name of Bill Grey. He actually holds a powerful position in the CDF now. I honestly haven't seen him in forever."

"Why'd he quit?"

Fox sighed, "He didn't quit; we made him leave. It was during the Orbital Gate battle with the Aparoids three years ago. He didn't follow specific instructions, and almost got our asses killed. We told him that it would be better for him to work with the CDF. We still end up fighting together on numerous occasions, but now I don't have to make one of my priorities keeping him alive."

The door opened, and Krystal stepped in. She had on a pair of skates, and jumped on the ice, bumping into Harvey as she skated by.

"What brings you to the cold?" Harvey jokingly asked.

"Figured I didn't want to miss any of the fun." She smiled, and took the puck away from Harvey. She blew by Fox and Shaw, got right in the slot, and wristed a shot just under the crossbar. Harvey tapped his stick on the ice.

"I forgot you were better than me!" He laughed. He blasted another shot from center ice, sailing 10 feet wide of the net.

"And I forgot your aim is shit!" She smirked.

Shaw chuckled, "I feel bad for Harvey."

Fox laid his hand on Shaw's shoulder, "Aww he'll be fine." Harvey had gotten another puck and skated to the top of the circle. He fired it and it slammed against the post and glided out of the offensive zone. Harvey let out a string of profanities and cracked his stick over the net. "Maybe…" Fox continued.

Fox's watch started flashing. He tossed his gloves on the bench and pressed the button, bringing his arm up to his ear. "Need something, Jay?" he was silent for a few seconds, then jumped off the boards. "Are you serious? We've only been flying for three days!" Fox skated over to Shaw, still listening to Jay. "I'll let him know, thanks. We'll be up right away." Fox turned his communications line off, grinning from ear to ear.

"Looks like we underestimated the Great Fox's repairs…" Fox said to Shaw, excitement hinted in his voice. "Jay said that we need to get up to the bridge now. We're about 200 miles out of Earth's atmosphere. Welcome home, Shaw."


	8. Homecoming

Shaw flew through the doors of the bridge, struggling to put on his flight jacket. Fox was close behind, already fully dressed in his usual attire. Soon the entire Star Fox team was piled in on their respective positions on the bridge. Shaw slipped on a headset, and tried to contact Earth.

"New York, this is Darren Shaw, do you copy?"

"Shaw?" A heavy voice responded. "Shaw! You're back!"

"It's been a long time since I've been in Earth's airspace. Can we get a location on where we're supposed to go?"

"Sure thing Sh-" the controller stopped short, "Wait, what do you mean 'we'? I thought your mission was just you."

"I brought back some friends. Is there a problem?"

"Not at all, I'm just-" There was some shouting in the background. A different person came on the radio, and Shaw instantly recognized the voice.

"That really you Shaw?" Jacks voice was shaky.

"Yes sir. I'm back."

"This… This is great! Alright; I'll direct you down. You will land on the NYSC airstrip, and taxi down to the terminal. I'll meet you there."

"Um… Small problem Jacks," Jay cracked a laugh as Shaw spoke. "The ship I'm in doesn't have wheels. How about we skip the taxi part, and go right to the terminal?"

Jacks spoke, obviously confused, "Whatever, just as long as you're on the ground. You're clear to enter the atmosphere."

Shaw gave the signal, and Jay slowly brought the Great Fox into Earth's airspace. The ship's G-diffusers began to hum as it adjusted to the drag of gravity. Jacks came back on the radio as the terminal began to come into view.

"Excuse the language, but what in God's name is that?"

"Sir, this is the Great Fox; Star Fox's main assault ship."

"You're gonna need a bit more explanation, Shaw. You're speaking a completely different language to me."

Falco found his way in the conversation, "It would take more time to explain than we have."

Jacks was surprised by the sudden intrusion. "Are you one of Shaw's company?"

"I'd be lying if I said no," Falco laughed, "And I'd also be lying if I said that I knew who you are."

"Oh, my bad. Name's Jacks. Head officer of the NYSC. Forgive me if I'm being rude, but I'd much rather talk face to face than over a radio."

Falco instantly responded, "Not a problem sir. I do have to warn you though; I've been told by your employee that I may be a bit different than what you humans are used to seeing."

Jacks whispered on Shaw's end, "What's he talking about?"

Shaw laughed, "You'll see. We're almost to the terminal."

The Great Fox dwarfed many commercial airliners that had arrayed the terminal. One 767 was roughly the size of the Great Fox's wing. Jay easily set her down about 50 feet from one of the terminal gates. The team instantly prepared for their trip. Every one of them had a bag packed with supplies and weapons. Shaw suggested that they all wear their fighter uniforms; just to make a good first impression. Fox stopped Shaw at the hangar door.

"Do we need anything else?"

Shaw shook his head, "I'm hoping that I will be able to take you guys to my house for a few days for a place to stay; if it's alright with you, of course."

"As long as I'm not getting shot at, I'm ok with it." Fox smirked.

Shaw raised his voice to get everyone's attention, "Just a warning; don't get too discouraged with my people's reactions to you."

Falco squeezed his way through. "Not a problem," he grunted. As they walked up to the door of the building, Jacks opened the door for them. He instantly gasped at the anthropomorphic creatures that were following Shaw.

"Woah," Jacks exclaimed, looking at the very diverse humanoid group behind Shaw.

Shaw smiled, "That was exactly my reaction. Don't worry; they're extremely friendly." Shaw turned to Fox and gestured him over. "Mr. Jacks, this is Fox McCloud; the leader of a well-known and respected military group called Star Fox."

Jacks hesitantly shook his hand, "It's a... pleasure to meet you Mr. McCloud. You may call me Jacks. I'm in charge of the space exploration program in New York."

Fox smiled, "I hope this isn't too much of a shock to you, Mr. Jacks. I understand that you haven't seen our kind before."

Jacks laughed, "Not at all; I've seen humans more different than you, to be honest. As a matter of fact, I can match each and every one of you to an animal on Earth."

Fox grinned, then grabbed Falco's arm and dragged him over. "Mr. Jacks, this is Falco; my main wingman on Star Fox."

"I was the one you were talking to on the comms line." Falco added, stretching out his wing. Jacks accepted it, then suddenly glanced at his watch.

"Let's finish our introductions in the car. Shaw, how's about we get you home?"

"Home? But what about these guys?" Shaw asked, turning his head to the Star Fox team. They all made some form of a positive shrug infused with a head nod.

Shaw smiled. "Guess I'm having a few visitors."

#####

The group of eight filed into Jacks SUV; Jacks at the wheel, Shaw sitting shotgun, and Fox, Falco, Krystal, Jay, Harvey, and Madison found seats in the back rows. They pulled out of the parking lot, and after a few turns, they had found their way onto the interstate; heading straight for Shaw's house. Falco kept shifting in his seat and grunting.

"Can humans really sit in these seats for hours on end? This seat hurts my ass!"

Jacks cracked a laugh. Shaw turned around, "Humans don't have tails, Falco. Didn't think I would have to educate you on this."

Fox interrupted, "I hate to break it to you guys, but Falco's right. These seats aren't exactly tail friendly."

Jacks smiled, "Don't worry Fox, It shouldn't take too long to get to Shaw's."

Fox rubbed his thigh, "I hope you're right, sir."

Jay looked out the window of the truck and noticed that a car was following them. The car followed them for about 20 miles, then a flashing red and blue light that was on the roof of the car flicked on.

Jacks flushed, "Oh shit." He slammed on the gas and pulled away from the car.

Shaw grabbed the handle on the roof, "What's your deal Jacks? It's just the feds; we can just explain it to them."

Jacks instantly responded, "Don't you understand? _They aren't the feds, Shaw_. This is exactly what I thought would happen." He swerved to avoid crashing into the back of a car.

Shaw stared, wide eyed. "Well then who are they?"

"No clue, but we need to get rid of them." Jacks pointed to the glove box. "In there."

Shaw reached in and pulled out a USP. He turned to Fox, "I may need help with this."

Fox put his hands up, "You told me not to be hostile; I think shooting at other humans counts as hostility."

"Not if you're defending yourself," The back window suddenly exploded as bullets were fired from the pursuing car. Harvey pulled the girls behind the seats to keep them safe. Shaw returned fire; holding the pistol backwards out the window. Fox unbelted himself and popped out of the sunroof with his weapon that he stowed under the seat. Fox pelted the car with bright blue plasma lasers; shooting out the windshield. Shaw noticed that the car's occupants were wearing the Russian flag on their jackets. Shaw cursed as he looked at Jacks.

"Shit, it's the Russians. How did they know?"

Jacks responded, "Kinda hard not to notice the massive starship entering the atmosphere."

Fox shouted sarcastically, "Well next time I go to a different galaxy, I'll make sure to trim a few meters off of her!" He ducked as another volley of shots fired out from the car.

Falco unsheathed his baster and fired out of his window toward the car. "I may sound a bit stupid," he shouted, "but are these Russian guys' not big fans of you?"

Shaw unloaded another clip at the car, "These guys hate our guts, and they're not afraid to show it."

Jay shouted, searching for his weapon, "Kinda like the Venomian army for us."

Fox fired a laser into the front of the car, and it instantly erupted into flames. Falco blasted out the left front tire, and the car careened off the road and into the ditch. Fox sighed as he sat back down, letting his gun fall out of his lap.

Shaw put the gun on the dashboard, "Thanks guys; there's another reason why I brought them along Mr. Jacks."

Jacks finally let his arms relax, "You never told me that these guys are combat trained."

"What would you expect, Mr. Jacks? They're mercenaries."

Jacks glanced in the mirror, "I honestly can't thank you and your team enough, Fox."

Fox smiled, "Not a problem, Mr. Jacks. I've never had that that much excitement in years."

A few minutes passed, then Shaw pointed at an off ramp. "There. That will get us there quicker."

#####

They drove up to a medium sized, two floored house at the end of a rural New York street. It was completely snow covered, and there was nothing but trees surrounding them for miles. They were completely secluded in the dense forest. As Jacks turned the truck off, his phone buzzed loudly.

"Garret Jacks, NYSC." He instantly paled as the caller spoke. "Are you serious? ...Where? ...I... I'll get there as soon as I can..."

"What?" Shaw questioned as Jacks suddenly started the truck up.

"There's a situation at New York, I need to get there now!"

"What is it?" Shaw quickly asked.

"I can't say, but whatever it is, it's serious. Get your crew out of this truck now."

"Sheesh, alright," Shaw scoffed, and got out of the truck they were in. He slowly walked up the icy sidewalk and knocked on the door of their house. A small, blond haired woman opened the door; tears welling in her eyes.

"Darren! You're home!" She hugged her husband, visibly relieved. "Did you hear what happened?"

He smiled, "How could I have not?"

"I'm just glad to see you're ok. How was your tr-" She instantly froze at the sight of the Cornerians unloading their gear.

Shaw laughed, "Whoops. Almost forgot. These are the guys who took me home."

"Why do they look like giant dogs? And… birds?"

"They're Cornerian; a race that comes from the Lylat System. That's where I ended up instead of the station." Shaw explained. Harvey was the first one to walk up to them; his hair still windblown from the car ride.

"We're almost done out here," Harvey said, then turned to the woman. "Who's this, Shaw?"

Shaw laughed, "_This,_" he started sarcastically, "is my wife, Jenny. Jenny, this is Harvey; the first person I met when I landed."

Jenny stared at the towering figure at her doorstep. She hesitantly shook Harvey's fur coated hand.

Shaw chuckled, "Jen, it's ok; they helped in that fight a few hours ago. They're my friends."

Harvey smiled at her, "Don't worry; I would never hurt an innocent person."

Falco shouted from the truck, "I have NEVER heard a bigger lie come out of anyone's mouth, EVER!"

Harvey quickly spun around, accidently slapping Shaw with his tail, "Hey Falco, I keep hearing shit come out of your beak; do we need to call a doctor?"

"Oh really?" Falco snapped, "You wanna go right now? I'll drop your ass on the spot!"

Madison slugged Falco as she walked by, "Not right now boys," she giggled, "Maybe later."

Harvey cracked his knuckles. Shaw quickly spoke up, "How about I show you guys inside?"

He led them into a large wood-floored room with two couches, a table, and a TV in the corner. There was an open counter on the other side of the room, and the kitchen was on the other side of it. Behind the one couch was a set of stairs that lead to the second floor. Shaw turned to Madison as they walked to the stairs.

"Go ahead and find a room upstairs for your stuff. All three rooms up there aren't in use."

She nodded, and she, Harvey, and Falco walked upstairs. Fox, Krystal, and Jay walked in with the rest of the gear, and they too went upstairs to drop it off.

Jenny waited until the animals disappeared upstairs, then whispered to Shaw, "That red bird is pretty cute."

Shaw smiled, "Hold on," he said, and walked to the foot of the stairs, "Jay, come here!"

His feathered head popped around the corner, "What's up?"

Shaw grinned, "My wife says you look cute." Jenny smacked his arm, blushing.

"Oh," Jay ruffled his feathers, "Thanks!" He walked down the rest of the stairs. "I didn't catch your name."

Jenny smiled, "I'm Jenny; nice to meet you."

Jay smiled, "You too." He turned to Shaw, "There's not enough space for all of us up there."

"I know," Shaw said, "Some of you guys can sleep down here."

"Cool. Falco and I will come down here. Fox and Krystal are in the same room."

Shaw smirked, "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

Jay tried to hold back laughter, "Do we need to in-act a curfew?"

Shaw and Jay instantly busted up. Jenny scoffed and walked over to the TV and turned it on. Fox came down the stairs next, stripped of his heavy flight jacket. He still had his trademark red scarf around his neck.

"Make yourself at home, guys." Shaw told the crew, "You guys will be held up in here for quite a bit."

Fox yawned, and threw himself on the couch, "You don't have to tell me twice."

Shaw leaned over to his wife, "That's Fox, by the way. He's the leader of this group."

"What do they do, anyway?" Jenny asked.

"Primarily, they are pilots. They work as a private for-hire military group." Shaw put his arm around her. "You don't have to worry about getting attacked; they are highly trained in combat procedures."

Jenny felt her muscles relax, "That makes me feel so much better. You know… I was a bit hesitant letting animals in the house." Fox raised an eyebrow as Jenny finished, "Now that I've gotten used to them a bit, I'm glad you brought them here. Thank you." She kissed his cheek as she walked toward the open couch. The TV was playing the news, and Shaw looked to see what was on the screen.

"There was a massive scare this afternoon after an unknown group attacked New York City," the news anchor announced, "So far; there are reports of minimal structural damage, and no known U.S. casualties. We will give updates as they come available. Another breaking news headline: we have been informed that we have some unexpected visitors residing in the U.S. at this moment. Garrett Jacks, the CEO of the New York Space Corporation, announced earlier today that we had our first intergalactic landing at the New York launch pad. A team of seven military mercenaries from a galaxy that is estimated to be 30 trillion light years away arrived this morning. No other details have been given at the moment. If you do find these visitors; Jacks encourages to socialize with them, because he said that they are fluent in English, and are peaceful and extremely friendly."

Jay chuckled, "Apparently they haven't met Falco."

Fox busted up, almost falling off the couch. Harvey finally found his way to the main room, also with some of his heavier clothes missing. He plopped down next to Fox.

"Not a bad place, eh?" he asked, playfully kicking Fox's leg.

"Not at all," Fox sat up, "Better than my home back on Corneria, that's for sure."

Jenny got up and slid into the kitchen, "I'm assuming I need to make a little extra for you guys?"

Harvey smirked, "If you're talking about food; make sure Jay here gets his own full course meal."

Jay glared at him, "Very funny."

Shaw got up and walked to Jenny, "I'll help if you need me too."

She nodded, and they disappeared into the kitchen. Falco finally came down the stairs with Krystal. He was holding his right arm, and there was a large, white cloth wrapped around his upper arm.

Fox shot up, "What happened?"

Falco shrugged, "Must've gotten hit while we were in the truck, and I didn't even know. Not until I took off my jacket and saw the giant red stain on the sleeve."

Krystal piped up, "I already took care of him. Patched his arm up and everything." She pulled out a small metal fragment, "I pulled this out of his arm. It's part of one of those huge metal tubes Shaw had."

Fox stood up and walked over to Falco, "You gonna be alright?"

Falco grunted, "I think so... Ow… Ow it stings. Damn Earth weapons hurt."

Madison moved over on the couch, "Here, come sit down. Shaw's in there making food for all of us."

Falco sat down, still gripping his arm, "Food does make everything better," he grinned.


	9. More Troubles

"Dinner's ready guys, come on in!" Shaw yelled from the kitchen.

Jay was the first one in, already eying the giant pan of food on the stove. Falco grunted as he walked in, still with a vice grip on his injured arm.

Jenny rushed over to him as he sat down, "Oh, are you ok? What happened?"

Falco lifted his hand from the bandage, revealing a blood soaked patch, "Ah, one of those assholes clipped my wing while we were driving up here. Hurts like hell."

Shaw carried over the large pan to the table, and nudged Jenny as he walked by, "Hey, you're a nurse; why don't you try to fix him up a bit?"

She looked at him, puzzled, "Humans; no problem. I don't know what I could do to help a bird…"

Krystal popped up behind her, "It's just a long, shallow cut; a few stiches and he'll be fine."

"Alright," Jenny looked at Falco, "Come over to the main room for a sec; I can stich you up."

Falco nodded, and the two walked out of the kitchen. Fox, meanwhile, was looking curiously at the pan that Shaw set on the table.

"What'd you make for us?" Fox asked.

"Nothing too extraordinary," Shaw said as he grabbed a large spoon from one of the drawers. "Just a casserole with hamburger, cheese and some macaroni; my personal favorite,"

"Sure does smell great." Harvey grinned, filling his plate. Jay was the first one to take a bite, his eyes shooting wide open.

"Wow!" he exclaimed, "This is fantastic!" The rest of the table soon followed suit; complementing Shaw on the dish.

Falco came into the room minutes later; visibly happier and in less pain. He had a thin, grey composite tube around the sight of his injury. Jenny walked through the door seconds later; a few specs of blood wound up on her sleeve.

"Thanks again Mrs. Shaw," Falco smiled, sitting back down at the table, "my arm feels a whole hell of a lot better now."

"Not a problem… uh, Falco, was it?" He nodded. Jenny walked up behind Shaw, taking off her gloves, "I'm gonna change real quick." Shaw acknowledged, and spoke to Falco.

"How's the wing?"

"Sore," Falco rubbed his arm. "Your wife said I would be fully healed an a few days. Until then; I'm supposed to keep this cast on."

Fox patted his back, "I'm just glad you're ok. I'd hate to lose my wingman."

Falco smirked, punching Fox's arm, "You always were a big softy."

"At least he cares!" Madison giggled. Jay nearly choked on his food.

Jenny came in with a fresh set of clothes. "While we're eating," she said as she sat down, "Fox, would you care to say a little more about yourself and your teammates?"

For the next half an hour, Fox and the rest of the team gave detailed explanations of who they were, what they did, and how they came to be so successful. When Fox mentioned his marriage with Krystal, Jay and Falco tried to keep a straight face and not to laugh. Shaw, who was sitting next to Jay, gave him a jab with the other end of his fork, himself not being able to contain his smile.

After the discussion, and after everyone had polished off their plates, Fox stood up, "Thanks for the food, you two."

"Anytime," Shaw grinned. All of them filed out of the kitchen, with the exception of Jenny and Madison, who were still talking. They all found respective places in the main room to sit down. Shaw had already thrown a hockey game on the TV, and they were all watching intently.

Harvey's watch buzzed, and he instantly brought it up to his ear and answered it in a firm voice. "Sheppard," Harvey instantly sighed as the caller spoke, "Um… hi? What do you…? Yeah, we had a bit of a skirmish earlier, how did…? …No we don't need… We don't need any help… The ship got damaged a bit, yes, but… No… No it's fine, we can take care of… I've been told it's mainly on ground, not… No…" Harvey was starting to get frustrated. "No, we can… We can handle it, really."

Falco looked back at him, "Who is it, Harv?"

Harvey put his hand over the watch, "Your favorite."

Falco groaned and sat back down. Harvey was still going back and forth with the caller, "I don't care if you got Pepper's permission; you're not… Why? There's nothing… I- I'm not being… Alright! Alright! Fine… I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into… Bye." He threw his hand down in defeat.

"What's up with Katt?" Fox asked.

"Apparently," Harvey sighed, "She got Pepper's OK to command a transport out to Earth."

"Oh you've got to be kidding," Falco groaned, letting his head fall backwards.

"This is not good," Shaw shot up, "The Russians are going to think that they are launching an attack! They're going to start another war between us!"

Fox located his transmitter and threw it on, "I'm gonna contact Pepper myself. Let him know this is not gonna fly." He walked up the stairs and into his room.

Jay looked over to Falco, who had his hand over his beak. "Katt has a thing for you, you kn-"

Falco interrupted, annoyed, "Yes, we all know that she has it for me. It's almost as noticeable as Harvey and Madison."

Harvey turned beat red. Madison yelled from the kitchen, "I heard that, bird."

Falco raised his voice, "I was hoping you did!"

"Anyway," Harvey's tail flicked, "Shaw's right; if Katt comes here, this may escalate into a full on war."

Krystal piped up, "I'd hate to start a war that's not in our galaxy."

"You got that right," Jay agreed. He got up and stood by Shaw, "If it does happen, however, I'll stay here and help. It's us that started this mess, and we need to stick around and clean it up."

Everybody nodded in unison, and a few minutes later, Fox slowly walked down the stairs.

"You guys better start preparing; looks like we're fighting another war."


	10. An Additional Threat

"Are you sure you want to go through with this, Wolf?" a deep, smooth voice said.

Wolf turned and faced him, his cybernetic eye glowing in a deep violet color, "A chance to fight in a war that we actually might have a chance in, and you're reconsidering it? This may be the only opportunity we can get to finally eliminating the Star Fox team."

"You do have a point there, but what about their new recruits?"

Wolf's eyes widened, "New recruits? What do you mean 'new recruits', Panther?"

Panther pulled out a small set of papers, "Says here Star Fox recruited three high ranking officers of the CDF." He flipped through the pages, "Madison Reynard; female; 24 years old; five foot seven; 120 pounds; had a job at Space Dynamics as a lead engineer."

Wolf scratched his chin, "Interesting recruit… continue."

Panther grabbed the next page, "Harvey Sheppard,"

Wolf interrupted in disbelief, "No shit… Harvey a member of Star Fox? Wow."

Panther continued as if Wolf never spoke, "26 years old; six foot; 180 pounds."

"Who's the last one?" Wolf popped up on his chair, putting his foot on the seat and propping his head on his knee.

Panther squinted at the paper, then let his jaw fall open, "Jay Falkner; 27 years old; six foot two; 160 pounds."

"Holy shit," Wolf shot forward, "Those are some pretty big names."

"That's why I asked if you wanted to go through with this."

Wolf rubbed the side of his face, "There's no better opportunity. They're stuck on Earth, with very little resources. Throw that into the fact that two large countries on that planet are threatening to tear each other apart."

Panther adjusted his belt, "So, what's your plan of attack? I've heard that the CDF authorized three full sized Cornerian Destroyers to head through the Orbital Gate. One of those ships is commanded by that 'Katt Monroe' feline."

Wolf chuckled, "Well we know what transport we're going after…"

"I assumed that," Panther smirked, "Did Miyu ever finish the stealth option for the Wolfen?"

Wolf nodded, "She's probably one of the best engineers Star Wolf has ever had. I still can't wrap my head around why Star Fox let her go."

"They worked fairly quickly on replacing her though," Panther replied, "I've heard that Madison was a really well respected and talented worker for SD."

"True… Anyway," Wolf glanced at the papers on his desk. "I've already got some plans drawn up,"

"And?" Panther said slowly.

"Well first off; Leon needs to hurry up and get back here."

Panther groaned, "Do we really need him?"

"He's a valuable asset." Wolf sighed, "I know he may be a pain in the ass sometimes, but he's irreplaceable." He picked up the pile of papers, "Next: we utilize Miyu's technology and sneak ourselves into one of those Destroyers; preferably Katt's. Once they pilot the cruiser towards the Gate, we open fire and assume control of the ship."

"Hold on," Panther put his hand up to his head, "We are going to take control of a Cornerian Destroyer, and use that as a getaway ship to Earth?"

"Exactly."

Panther scoffed, "You're not exactly subtle with your plans."

"At least my plans work," Wolf gave Panther a cold smile.

Panther grunted, and walked to his station. He pulled up some information of the current Earth conflicts and showed them to Wolf.

"Basically," Wolf bent down next to Panther's seat, "We're going to act as a catalyst. Do a little bit of damage here and there without being spotted, and that should instigate a few fights." Wolf glanced at Panther, "Or we could do something a bit more fun…"

Panther grabbed his head, "I don't like the sound of that…"

"Yes you do," Wolf assured, "It involves using the Destroyer and cause some major damage to the major cities over there. They will think that the CDF launched an attack, and in turn, will turn the humans against them."

"You're gonna have two of the most dangerous military powers in the universe fight against each other? I thought you were just going after Star Fox?"

"I just thought it would be easier to kill two birds with one stone…" he glanced at his papers, "Three if you said that Falkner joined."

Panther chuckled, "Your plans are evil and dangerous… I like your plans."

"Glad you're on board," Wolf patted his shoulder. "As soon as Leon gets back, we need to prep for the assault on the Cornerian ship."

Panther nodded, and Wolf found his way back to his seat. He put his head down, whispering to himself.

"Playtime is over, Star Fox."


	11. Increasing Tensions

Jay wandered downstairs to the basement of Shaw's home. There he saw Shaw wailing on a sandbag suspended from the ceiling. Shaw was in the middle of his classic routine; using boxing-like moves against the bag. He took a break and saw Jay in the doorway.

"Oh, hi Jay," he said, out of breath. He grabbed a water bottle as Jay spoke.

"Mind if I take over for a bit?"

Shaw shrugged, "Go right ahead."

Jay immediately threw off his CDF flight jacket, and put on a pair of fingerless gloves. All he had on was a white tank-top and fighter pants; like how he was when he had breakfast with him on the Great Fox. Jay assumed his fighting stance; one foot well behind the other one, crouching low to the ground. He started with a flurry of jabs with both hands, and gradually regained his ability to fight with his legs. After pummeling the bag for a few minutes, Jay unleashed an ungodly right kick; ripping the bag clean off of its hook and sending it sailing across the room. Shaw stood there clapping, amazed at the skill Jay possessed.

"That was impressive," Shaw praised.

Jay combed his erratic head feathers back. "Thanks. You're not too bad yourself."

Krystal poked her head in the doorway, "Guys, get up here!"

They ran up the stairs to see everyone staring at the TV. There was a huge fire on the screen as a woman spoke.

"We're bringing you this live from Boston as reports of an attack from another foreign power laid siege to the city for a few hours. At least three buildings have been confirmed destroyed. No words on civilian casualties as of yet. The assault has since been apprehended; as anti-air rockets took down four large bomber jets over the Atlantic Ocean. We will continue to bring you coverage of this attack at a later time."

Fox walked over to Shaw, resting his hand on his shoulder. "I'm truly sorry that we brought this on your country."

"It's not your fault," Shaw stated, looking at his bright green eyes, "The Russians have been planning this attack for years; it was just a coincidence that they decided to attack when you guys got here."

"Like I said," Jay started, still out of breath, "I told you I wouldn't leave until we cleaned this mess up."

Harvey got up, rage hinted in his voice, "Nobody messes with my friend's people and gets away with it."

Shaw felt a warm feeling inside of him, "I find it funny that I've only known you guys for about a week, yet you guys are willing to risk your lives to help me…" He smiled, making everyone he looked at smile as well, "I can't thank you guys enough."

Fox responded, his voice hinting a bit of excitement, "You're part of our team now; our family. We don't leave our family behind… not in these circumstances." Fox reached into his pocket and pulled out an extra transmissions wrist watch, and a badge with the Star Fox logo imprinted on it. "I wanted to do this a while ago, but things always kept popping up one after another." Fox put the badge into Shaw's hand, "Shaw, welcome to Star Fox."

"You're serious? You're letting me join?"

"Of course. Think of it as a souvenir from your friends on Corneria."

"Thanks guys," Shaw said, struggling to think of what to say next. "This will always be something I'll never forget."

The group finished the rest of the news, talking about various things as they were watching. Madison suddenly stood up, yawning and stretching. "I'm tired. I'm gonna get some shut eye… night guys!"

Krystal was right behind her, "Same here. Goodnight guys!"

Shaw glanced at his watch. "Wow, it's almost 11." He noticed that Jenny had fallen asleep next to him. He picked her up and walked to their bedroom. "Don't stay up too late, Foxie," He joked.

Krystal grabbed Fox's ear as she walked by, "Ow! I don't think I have much of a choice!" He smirked.

As the Shaws disappeared into their bedroom, Madison came up behind Harvey and whispered in his ear. "Aren't we sharing a room?" she asked, staring at him intently, twirling her hair with her fingers.

Harvey's reaction was borderline priceless. "I was afraid you were never going to ask," he responded in a suggestive voice. He followed her up the stairs; his tail flicking wildly. He winked at Jay as he disappeared around the corner.

Once Falco and Jay heard the door close upstairs, they instantly exploded into a quiet laughter.

Jay strained to get his words out, practically choking over laughing, "Did I not say something like this would happen?"

Falco dried tears from his eyes, "Damn, Harvey's getting all the fun."

Jay finally was able to calm down. He laid down on the open couch, still talking with Falco; who was already lying down. "In all honesty; what do you think of Shaw?"

Falco turned his head towards Jay, "Personally… I like the guy… He's nothing like what I thought humans would be like."

"Same here." Jay agreed. "I just hope we can be able to protect him."

Falco grunted, flipping over, "Me too…" he paused for a few seconds. "I'm having a strange feeling that something is going to go terribly wrong in the next few days…"

"What is it?" Jay sat up.

"No clue…" Falco started drifting off, "All I'm hoping for is that all of our team makes it out of here on our feet and not in bags…" Jay gave an agreeing grunt, and the two of them started to fall asleep. They could hear faint barking coming from upstairs. Falco chuckled, "And I thought Fox was bad…" Jay cracked a quiet laugh, and the two fell asleep in a matter of seconds.


	12. Retrieval

Shaw slowly made his way from his bedroom and into the main room. The sun was already up, flooding the room with sunlight, but it could not compensate for the cold winter air. Jay was sitting on the couch with his legs crossed gazing at a bright screen. He had changed his shirt from the white tank top he had yesterday to a dark blue sleeveless shirt. He glanced up at Shaw's shirtless frame.

"Mornin'," Jay said happily.

Shaw tilted his head, "I guess the birds on Corneria abide by the same early rising rule," he grinned.

"Not necessarily," Jay said slowly, pointing over at Falco, who was lying flat on his back with his beak wide open.

Shaw smiled, "I stand corrected." Jay put the device in his hands on the couch and whispered to Shaw.

"Did you hear what Harvey did last night?"

"No," Shaw responded, "I only heard you and Falco laughing a bit. What'd he do?"

Jay quickly scanned his surroundings, making sure no one was listening, "He scored with Madison right before we fell asleep."

"Seriously?" Shaw grabbed the back of his neck, "Harvey did tell me that he and Madison were close friends… Apparently not close enough?"

Jay cracked up, "He was barking up a storm last night; Falco and I had troubles falling asleep with the noise coming from up there."

"We told the wrong couple about self-control," Shaw laughed.

Jay heard footsteps from upstairs. He motioned to Shaw to quickly drop the subject. He turned just in time to see Krystal slowly working her way down the stairs.

"Hey boys," she yawned, then cracked a smile, trying to keep her composure as she spoke to Jay, "Did you hear Harvey and Madison last night?"

"How could I not?" he chuckled.

"I kinda figured that something like that would happen," she rubbed the side of her head, "I had to struggle to keep my mind out of theirs."

"Oh right, telepathy," Shaw grinned, "What nu-"

"Five." Krystal smiled.

"Damn," Shaw glanced down. "How did you acquire that ability?"

Krystal shrugged, "Most of the native population of Cernia had this ability at birth. I was the lucky one that escaped before the planet was destroyed. As far as I know, I'm the only survivor of Cernia."

Shaw patted her back, "Sorry to hear that. I'd say you got pretty lucky coming into the Star Fox organization."

Her tail flicked, "Yup. It's like a whole other family here."

"Do you have any other memories of your old family?"

"No," she glanced down, "The only thing I have from way back then is this," She walked to the corner of the room and pulled out a large, four foot golden staff.

"It's beautiful," Shaw said, mesmerized by the expertly crafted staff.

"And it's not just for looks," she crouched down, putting a firm grip on the staff. She took a deep breath, then a bright red light shot out of the tip. She twirled it around her arm, and the room instantly became coated in a soothing warmth.

"Wow!" Shaw exclaimed.

"I would show you more," Krystal stated, collapsing the staff, "But I don't want to destroy your house. Maybe during training I can show you what else it has in store."

They all turned to see Fox walking down the stairs; shirtless just like Shaw, but still had his red scarf tightly wound around his neck. Fox waved, then glanced at Falco, who was snoring faintly. He gave Shaw an 'I'm about to do something evil' smile, and crouched down next to the asleep bird. He turned around so that the tip of his tail was right up against Falco's face. He twitched, then suddenly shot up, swiping at Fox's tail. Shaw, Krystal, and Jay exploded into laughter.

"Dammit, I HATE when you do that!" Falco growled, smacking Fox with his pillow.

Fox tried to muffle his laugh, "I know; that's why I do it!"

Falco grunted, then sat up. His shirt was bunched up around the site of his cast. "So, how'd Harvey do last night?"

"Oh god," Fox fought through laughter, "You were complaining about my noise years ago?"

"I did," Falco ruffled his feathers, "By the way you just admitted doing it," he smirked, jumping up and running behind Jay.

"Motherfu-" Fox cringed, feeling a rush of heat in his cheeks. Everybody busted up into uncontrollable laughter. Even Krystal cracked a slight smile.

"Alright boys," she giggled, "enough playtime. We still need to figure out how to get the rest of our gear down from the Great Fox."

Fox glanced up, still red in the face, "Oh I never thought of that!" he stood up and paced back and forth by the back window. He suddenly looked at Falco, a cheesy grin smeared on his face.

"I know you're itching to get back in the air; now's the time to do it."

"I love the idea Fox," Falco grunted, "but Slippy is up there, and we don't have an Arwing to fly up there."

"Not yet," Fox smirked. He walked out of the front door and onto the snow covered road. He pulled out a small device and placed it in the middle of the icy street. Shivering, he walked back into the house and quickly ran upstairs, coming back with his wrist transmitter and a jacket. Throwing on the jacket, Fox fired up his transmitter and contacted the Great Fox.

"Slip, I have the locator in place, could you send down Falco's Arwing?" he said into his watch. Slippy came back moments later.

"Sure thing. You sending him up here? I was starting to get lonely," he laughed.

"Just for a bit," Fox chuckled, "Falco's just gonna grab some gear we left up there." He paused for a brief second. "You almost done?"

"I wish," Slippy said disappointingly, "There was a part that those bombers hit that I can't replace. I have to wait until those Cornerian transports come until I can get some help with her."

"That sucks," Fox sighed. "Just stay safe up there Slip; Falco will be up there shortly."

"Alright! Arwing being transported. Slippy out." Fox's watch beeped, then he put his hand down. He glanced out the window to see a sleek, silver and blue fighter being materialized right on the spot that he had set in the street.

"I can't get over how cool that is." Jay said, staring out the window.

Falco had already changed into his red flight suit. He and Fox walked outside to the Arwing. Falco opened the cockpit and pulled out his HUD headgear. He glanced at Fox, who was shivering in the below freezing cold.

"Mind spotting for me?"

"Of course," Fox replied, "Whenever you're ready."

Falco hopped into the seat of his Arwing, and started it up. The G-diffusers roared to life as Falco slowly lifted the ship off the road. He maneuvered it just above the height of the surrounding houses, then put it into full gear; speeding toward the city.

"Ah, it's good to be back in the sky." Falco sighed at he gradually allowed the Arwing to gain altitude. He rolled to the side to make a tight turn around one of the tall buildings, then shot forward at full speed, racing toward the Great Fox.

Fox watched from Shaw's driveway as Falco's fighter got smaller and smaller. He heard an extremely faint sound come from just out of his peripheral vision, and turned to see what it was. A white trail of smoke shot out of the skyline of the city, and a small, grey tube was rocketing towards Falco's Arwing.

"Shit!" Fox yelled, and quickly contacted Falco, "Falco, missile inbound; it's locked on you!"

Falco glanced behind himself just in time to see the rocket hurtling towards his ship. He rolled downward in an attempt to shake the rocket. "Gah! I… nrg!" Falco grunted, using every maneuver he could think of. "I can's sh..." static came from the other line. Fox looked up from his watch to see a plume of dark smoke in the sky. A bright orange fireball shot out of the smokescreen, plummeting towards the ground.

Fox froze there; horrified. He struggled to get the word out of his mouth.

"Fuck."


	13. Assault (Warning: AC)

**A/N****: If you do not like sex scenes; you may want to skip this chapter. I would strongly advise not skipping this, however, because it is immensely important to the story itself. You do not have to read all the way through if you want to skip the sex part. Just an FYI, it's not overly graphic or detailed, but just know it's there. **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy it regardless. I guess I can take this time to say that the story will be updated as often as it can. I may leave you guys in suspense at times, but that's all part of the writing process. Also; leave a review if you did enjoy, or didn't, whatever. I just need the feedback so I can see what I may have to change (if anything) in the future.**

"Alright boys," Wolf shouted from his fighter, "Let's fly." The four Wolfen fighters launched out of the main cruiser; ripping through space towards the Cornerian vessels.

Once the transports came into view, Miyu came on the transmissions, "Okay, let's disappear." They all turned on their cloaking device in unison, and the Wolfen vanished into the darkness of space. Leon got within range and launched an EMP rocket toward the main cruiser. The electrical burst overrode the hangar gate mechanism, and they flew silently into the transport's docking bay.

"What's up with the gate?" a Cornerian soldier yelled.

"No clue," Another replied, "The comms are down too."

Wolf leapt out of his cockpit and fired two lasers at the two, dropping both Cornerian guards. They silently filed out of their ships, and lined up against the wall near the main doors. All four Star Wolf members had on relatively similar combat gear: heavy dark Kevlar gear, helmets already fitted with a wireless HUD communications network, and fully automatic weapons.

Leon nodded, and lobbed in a grenade through the doorway, and a few soldiers yelled before a loud detonation emanated within the hallway. Wolf smiled sadistically as they all rushed into the charred hallway.

"Where we headed?" Panther questioned, adjusting his weapon.

Wolf pointed down the hallway, "Down there, up the next set of stairs, and the bridge is at the end of that hallway."

"There's a cross in the road," Leon stopped at the intersection of the hallway. "We splitting up?"

Wolf nodded, "You and Panther go left. Miyu, you're with me. Meet us at the bridge."

They split up, and Wolf slid up against the wall and glanced around the corner. Three Cornerian soldiers were racing down the hallway to the site of the earlier explosion. As soon as the first soldier turned around the corner, Wolf pounced; ramming his forearm into the chest of the guard, dropping him to the floor. Miyu fired a few shots and took down the other canines. A loud snap was heard from the ground, and Wolf got off of the lifeless body.

"Heh," Wolf grinned, "I thought there would be a bit more of a challenge."

Miyu shrugged, "Simple is always good… Let's keep moving."

Leon and Panther, however, were not having an easy time. They were pinned down by the stairs, being shot at by several Cornerian soldiers. Panther, quick as a blur, shot up and ripped a hole through one of the soldier's chest.

Leon ducked in the doorway and quickly called Wolf. "We're trapped!" he shouted, blind-firing his weapon out towards the advancing guards.

"On our way," Wolf growled. _They're always getting their asses into trouble_, he thought, running towards the stairs. He popped around the corner; his green lasers shooting through the unsuspecting soldiers.

Wolf snatched an ID card from one of the dying Cornerians. "No… Don't…" he gasped, clawing at Wolf's leg. Wolf gave him a cold smile, then grabbed a handful of the soldier's hair, and forcefully smashed his face into the floor. Wolf swiped the card on the receiver, and the bridge's doors opened wide. A pink furred feline quickly turned around, and froze instantly.

"Afternoon," Wolf grinned, firing a laser into Katt's leg. She instantly fell to the ground, crying out in pain.

"What are you doing?" She screamed, clutching at her leg.

"There's been a change in command," Wolf responded firmly. He grabbed her by the shirt and pinned her up against the wall, holding his gun up against her head. "Listen closely," Wolf started, putting his face near hers, "We're assuming control of this transport. It's time for Earth to realize that Cornerians aren't as nice as they think."

"You can't turn the humans against us!" Katt bared her teeth.

"As much as I would love to agree with you," Wolf tightened the grip on her shirt, "That's not gonna happen. All we need to do is use this cruiser to attack one of Earth's major cities, and boom. You've got the universe's most powerful army out for revenge."

"You're insane!" Katt growled, kicking wildly. Wolf holstered his gun and pulled out a small knife, jabbing it into her midsection, then threw her to the ground. He pulled out the gun again and pointed it at her.

"And if I get any more interference from you or your crew," Wolf scowled, "This ship could use a makeover… And I really like the color red." He caught the sound of the door opening, and shot backwards, hitting a canine in the shoulder. The soldier dropped his weapon and sank to the ground.

"Miyu," Wolf turned to the lynx who had a vice grip around one of the Cornerian engineer's necks. She looked up at him as he spoke. "Work your magic."

She nodded, and dropped the lifeless canine. She walked over and sat down at Katt's previous position. She messed with a few settings, before throttling forward and through the Orbital Gate.

Katt tried to crawl to her weapon that had been thrown across the room. Wolf noticed her and pulled her away by her arm. She attempted to escape, but she could not muster enough strength to break Wolf's hold on her.

"Tsk-tsk," Wolf scolded. He forcefully ripped Katt's outer jacket off, causing the feline to cry out in pain.

Wolf turned to Panther. "Would you care if I had a little bit of alone time with my little girl?" he asked, petting Katt's head.

"Go right ahead," Panther smirked. Wolf picked up the limp feline and set her on his shoulder. He walked down the stairs and into an empty living quarters; throwing Katt on one of the beds.

Katt was completely limp. She could not move her muscles at all, although they felt like they were on fire. Katt could only watch as Wolf slowly undressed himself, and soon thereafter pulling her tattered clothes off.

"Don't worry about me," Wolf smirked seductively, laying himself on top of the feline. Katt groaned as his first thrust let out all of the air in her lungs. As Wolf's rhythmic movements started to become quicker and more intense, she felt her senses dulling rapidly. She continued to moan as she continuously felt the lupine moving inside of her. Wolf was grunting and barking faintly as he intensified his movements. The pleasurable noises were synchronized, but only one person felt it the same way. Katt was on the verge of blacking out as the pain from her wounds and the lupine became more and more excruciating.

"Mmm… Are you ready? …Ready… here… it comes…." Wolf whispered in her ear. Wolf eventually let himself become overwhelmed by his sensations; releasing himself into the feline. Katt groaned as her own sensations took over; causing her to almost explode with unwanted pleasure. Wolf sighed erotically as he fell over after pulling out of the feline. He almost instantaneously fell asleep at Katt's side. Katt let the pain overcome her as she too slipped into darkness.


	14. Misfire

Shaw and Fox were racing down city streets in his car, trying to locate the remains of the Arwing. Fox had not moved or even spoken since Falco was shot down. Shaw could sense the feeling of rage and grief emanating from Fox's heart. Shaw honestly felt bad for the poor vulpine; his wingman had just been shot down, and he had no idea if he was alive or not. Even if the bird was alive, he'd still be seriously hurt considering the velocity of the impact. No ordinary human could survive an explosion within the cockpit, let alone a brutal impact with the ground thousands of feet below on top of it. Shaw tried to shake the negative thoughts from his mind, but he couldn't get fully behind the thought of Falco still being alive. Even if he was an alien avian from another galaxy; no one could survive a massive detonation of that caliber. Shaw's thoughts were suddenly interrupted as the vulpine started talking faintly.

"Who shot him?" Fox growled, struggling to speak. Shaw could instantly feel the animosity from Fox.

"I don't-"

"WHO FUCKING SHOT HIM?!" Fox yelled, baring his teeth. Fox was completely livid.

"I don't know Fox!" Shaw responded, "I'll call Jacks right now." He pulled his phone off the dashboard and punched in a few buttons. He then slid his phone in between his face and his shoulder.

"What happened, Jacks?"

"What happened with what?"

"Did you guys launch a rocket, not… five minutes ago?"

"Yeah, why?"

Shaw sighed. "Why?" he repeated impatiently.

"Our threat index is at the highest it's ever been. We've been instructed to take down any foreign aircraft that fly in and around this area; no exceptions."

"Aren't you supposed to ask for identification first?"

"Well, no," Jacks responded, puzzled. "We didn't recognize the shape of the aircraft, so we just… assumed it was a hostile ship."

Shaw nearly exploded in rage right then and there. "You… _assumed_? You just fucking _assumed_ that anything up in the air you don't recognize is a threat?!"

"Woah, Shaw, calm down; why are you freaking out so bad about this?"

"Bloody hell Jacks," Shaw was practically shouting. "_That was Falco_!"

"That weird humanoid falcon creature you brought back? Why was he up in the air?"

"He was just going up to get some supplies from their main ship. That ship can't land because the Russians fucked it up."

"Shit." There was a brief pause before Jacks came back. "I just sent coordinates on where the aircraft came down."

"Thanks," Shaw said bitterly.

"I- I'm sorry, Shaw. I had no idea."

"He better be alive," Shaw snapped, and threw his phone in the back seat. Fox sat there, gazing out the window.

"Fox, I-"

"Save it," he interrupted shakily, "Just worry about getting to him."

Fox sank in his seat with his head down. Shaw heard Fox murmuring to himself, but he couldn't make out what the vulpine was saying. A single tear formed in the corner of Fox's bright green eye.

Shaw gasped, and suddenly slammed on the brakes. He swiftly shot out of the seat and ran towards a blazing pile of metal. Fox trailed close behind.

"Look!" Shaw shouted, pointing at what once was the cockpit. It was wide open, and there was nothing inside. Shaw glanced inside and saw a large red stain on the seat. Shaw turned around to Fox, who was staring at one of the trees with his jaw hanging open.

Falco was laying up against the tree. He had large gashes everywhere on his face and arms, and his beak was cracked and chipped in several places. The trail of snow leading from the remains of the Arwing to where he was lying was dyed crimson. There were giant spots of blood soaked into his tattered flight suit. Large portions of his tail feathers were missing, and his left leg looked as if it went through the garbage disposal. He was unconscious, and was scarcely breathing.

"He's alive," Shaw said, relieved. "Barely. We need to get him to the hospital."

Fox nodded, and they grabbed the limp avian from the ground and carried him into the car. Shaw shot forward, and sped toward the hospital. Fox was in the back seat doing what he could to patch up the gashes all over the falcon's body.

Falco suddenly opened his eyes, gasping and coughing, "Wha… I…"

"Settle down, Falco," Fox patted his arm, "You're gonna be ok. Just hang in there buddy."

Falco's eyes began to shut slowly. Fox raised his voice, "Come on Falco; stay with me!"

Shaw drove up to the main door and quickly shot out of the car. He and Fox pulled Falco out of the back seat and walked him up to the main door. Everybody in the hospital gasped and stared at the creatures that walked in. Shaw spoke quickly to the nurse at the desk.

"Our friend is seriously hurt; he needs help now!"

The nurse stared at the struggling falcon. "What in God's name is that?" she asked hesitantly.

"I don't have time to explain," Shaw interrupted impatiently. "He's dying; he needs help!"

The nurse stuttered, "I- I don't," Shaw ignored her out and rushed Falco through the doors. The nurse called out from her desk, "Sir, you're not allowed back there!"

Shaw disregarded her statement and gently rushed Falco through the many rooms in the hospital. A doctor wound the corner and almost ran into the avian.

"What's going- what the hell?" he gaped at the wounded Cornerian.

"He's hurt badly, doc," Shaw started, "he was caught up in a crash."

The doctor looked up and down Falco's mangled frame. He responded hesitantly. "Who… What are these…"

"We'll explain later," Shaw cut him off. "He's dying; we need your help."

"Well… I'd love to help," the doctor said, still studying the Cornerians in front of him, "but I have no idea how I can help it- him." He quickly corrected himself.

"He's got a bunch of really bad gashes everywhere, and we haven't got him to stop bleeding. I'm pretty sure he's got a few broken bones too."

"Does he have a normal blood type?"

"A positive," Fox stated from the table he had set Falco on.

The doctor stared at Shaw. "Wait, how come I can underst-"

"Doc," Shaw shook his shoulder. "Like I said, I'll explain later."

"Alright," the doctor put on some gloves, "I'll do what I can."

"Thank you," Shaw walked out of the room. The doctor stepped over to Fox.

"I'm sorry… uh, sir? I can't let you stay in here. You're gonna have to wait outside."

Fox shook his head, "I'm not leaving him. Not like this."

The doctor took Fox aside while a bunch of nurses worked on Falco. "You two are the ali- _people_, that came here a few days ago, right?" Fox nodded. The doctor continued, "What's your names?"

"I'm Fox. That's Falco over there."

"Alright…" The doctor sighed, "We may need your help at times, Fox, so I'll let you stay here."

"Thank you," Fox smiled. The nurses already had most of Falco's cuts patched up, and there were several thin tubes that were sticking into his arms. Fox walked over to him and patted his shoulder.

"Hang in there buddy…"

Fox backed off as two more doctors entered the room. They were mumbling to each other about their sudden patient. Fox could understand them, but didn't understand them. They were speaking in some kind of medicinal version of English that only the highest mentally capable people could understand.

Fox watched as seven humans worked on his injured wingman. Many of the doctors started getting louder as the machines around them made it difficult to communicate.

"Don't worry about that; just keep him stable,"

"Poor guy lost over a liter of blood already. Get me an IV, STAT,"

"Six fractures and counting. Left leg is compound,"

"Did Young ever authorize a painkiller? Then where is it?"

Fox was starting to get a headache from all the medical lingo being said. He reluctantly walked out of the operating room and waited outside the door. He whispered faintly to himself.

"Something's fishy, and I'm gonna find out what."


	15. Grounded

Falco was moved to an ordinary hospital room a few days after his operation, which consisted of reparations to his left leg, backbone, and numerous other bones that had been shattered in the crash. A significant amount of blood had to be transfused, and countless amounts of stiches were all over his body. He sat in the hospital bed, conscious, watching the TV. Fox walked into the room with the rest of his team that Shaw had brought in.

"You ok, little birdy?" Fox chuckled, sitting on the end of the bed.

"I'm not dead, so yes," Falco smirked. His beak was still badly chipped, and he had multiple scars around his eyes. "The human doctor said I have a concussion and few broken bones, but it ain't gonna kill me."

"Listen, I'm sorry I sent you up there. It's my fault you're like this."

"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself, Foxie," Falco nudged his tail with his leg. "You had no idea that would happen._ I_ had no idea that would happen. I'm fine now, so it's not that big of a deal."

"Yeah, but the scars all over your face… and your beak."

Falco rubbed his head, "I'm not too worried about that. I still look good, don't I?" He smirked.

Jay cracked a smile. "Good to know your head's not completely messed up."

Falco shrugged, and let his head fall back on the pillow. "How'd the rest of you guys get here anyway?"

"I brought them in," Shaw quickly responded. "I flew them in on my helicopter."

"You've got your own helicopter?" Falco gaped.

"Yup. Working with the NYSC isn't what you would call 'cheap labor'. Probably one of the highest paying jobs on Earth at the moment."

"And you didn't recommend me for a position there?" Falco chuckled.

Harvey broke through the crowd and stood on the other side of the bed. "What even happened to you, Falco?" he asked, looking up and down Falco's mangled frame.

"Shaw said that they had a 'no-fly' zone around the city. I must've gotten a tad too close for their liking."

"It just doesn't make sense; why would they not ask for identification before opening fire?"

Falco shrugged, "I know if I was fighting a war, I wouldn't ask questions."

Shaw felt his phone buzzing and quickly answered it. "Darren Shaw; NYSC…" He instantly went pale as the caller spoke.

"News, NOW!" he shouted. Jay quickly snatched the remote off the table and flipped the channel. The screen showed a large, dark shadow buried deep in the clouds.

"This is a live feed over New York," a broadcaster spoke, "we just caught a glimpse of what looked to be a massive aircraft entering the atmosphere. We are suspecting it is another intergalactic landing like the one just a few days ago; because the aircraft does not look earthly. We have been told that this aircraft has not yet been identified; and the military already has weapons on standby."

Fox instantly jumped up and contacted the Great Fox. "Slip, what's going on up there?"

Slippy's shaky voice came back moments later. "I just saw three Cornerian Destroyers come through the Orbital Gate. I'm guessing those are Katt's transports?"

"I guess," Fox replied hesitantly. "What are they doing up there?"

"Um…" Slippy went silent for a few moments, "Two of them just stopped by the ship, but the third one just entered the atmosphere."

"Was that part of the plan?" Fox spoke quickly.

"I'm not… Hold on, I'm getting another call," there was silence for a minute, then a heavy, male voice came over his line.

"Fox! Something's wrong! We can't get in contact with our main vessel!"

Fox shot forward, "Bill? What are-"

"Yeah it's great to talk to you too Fox," Bill interrupted sarcastically, "but there's a more dangerous situation down there!"

"Ok, ok; what's the problem?"

"We can't get a hold of Katt's Destroyer, and it's getting dangerously close to Earth atmosphere."

"We just saw on TV that it's right above New York; the place we are at."

"Oh shit," Bill's voice trembled. "Fox, you need to get up there and figure out what's up with that cruiser. I have a feeling that we aren't in control of her anymore."

"Aren't in control?" Fox repeated, "Who could have taken over Katt's ship?"

Bill scoffed, "Who else would get under our fur, Fox?"

Fox sighed, "Alright. Bill, you take your Destroyer and try to take the other one back, by force if necessary. I'm gonna find a way to get up there."

"Good luck Fox, Grey out." silence came from the other end. He quickly spun around to Shaw.

"We need to get up there."

Shaw nodded, "I can take you guys in my helicopter. Meet me on the roof." He ran out the door of the room. Fox turned to the injured bird.

"Now Falco, I know you're itching for a fight, but I can't let you go up there in your condition."

Falco smiled, "I wouldn't want to get involved in that mess even if you paid me. The fun's all yours."

Fox turned to Madison, "I want you to stay with Falco."

"What?" her jaw dropped. "You're sitting me out?"

"I can't risk getting another one of my crewmembers seriously hurt!"

"But I can-"

"No, he's right," Harvey interrupted. He set his paw on her shoulder. "We have no idea what could be up there. I'm taking the risk; but I don't want you taking it too if it means you might be killed up there."

Madison glanced down, then spoke, "Alright… I'm not sitting out next round though!"

"Deal," Fox replied, "Jay, Harvey; you two find your way to the ship's communications room and try to fix things up. Krystal; you'll come with me to the bridge of the ship. Let's move!"

They all got equipped with their gear and weaponry and met up with Shaw. They all filed into the large military helicopter and slowly rose up and towards the dark shadow. Shaw pulled up along the side of the massive cruiser, searching for a place to land. The cruiser easily exceeded 200 feet in length, and it looked as if it could annihilate anything that could come in its path. It looked like a giant silver cylinder with a large plasma cannon that stuck out under the bridge. Fox stood up and wobbled over to Shaw, handing him a metal ball.

"Here," Fox yelled over the whirring of the helicopter blades, "Try to shoot this towards that discolored grey section. That's the main docking gate. That EMP grenade should override the lock."

Shaw pushed the grenade away, "You throw, and I shoot."

Fox nodded, and carefully staggered over to the open side of the helicopter. Shaw gave the signal, and Fox hurled the grenade towards the gate. Shaw hit his target dead on, causing an electrical surge to emanate from the site of the explosion. The hangar doors of the Destroyer slowly opened, resulting in a loud screeching sound. However, Shaw forgot that his helicopter also could be affected by EMP charges. The helicopter started to loose altitude, and Shaw struggled to keep her steady. Shaw had one of his patented spur-of-the-moment ideas; suddenly and swiftly jerking the controller sideways, sending the helicopter hurtling towards the wide open hangar door.

"Buckle down!" Shaw yelled, "This may hurt a bit!" The helicopter slammed into the floor of the hangar and buckled, causing it to roll several times before coming to a stop up against the wall. Dazed, Shaw climbed out of the destroyed machine. He staggered over to the team, who were also visibly stunned.

"Let's not do that again," Jay chuckled, rubbing his head. Krystal and Harvey were also shaken up, but they looked alright.

Fox had already walked towards one of the docked fighters. It was fairly large, with red and black pigments and four grey inverted wings. He cursed as he realized what it was.

"Wait…" Harvey jumped over to the Wolfen, "There's four of them."

"Four?!" Fox exclaimed. "When did they recruit another member?"

"Must've been after the incident with you and Wolf over Aquas last year."

"Can we please not mention that again?" Fox cringed.

Harvey cocked his head, "What? What happened out there?"

Fox glared at him, "Never mind that, we need to go!"

Shaw grabbed Fox's arm as he started to walk away. "What do you need me to do?"

Fox walked over to the body of a Cornerian soldier, grabbing his gun and handing it to Shaw. "Go with Harvey and Jay; give them a bit of extra support." Fox glanced at Jay and nodded, and he walked over to them, weapon in hand. "Shaw's going with you. He might be able to help fix the comms line."

"Great," Jay nudged Shaw, "Let's move!" The three of them ran out of the hangar and through the hallway. Fox glanced over at Krystal.

"Let's go pay an old friend a visit."


	16. Split Mission

**A/N: Merry Christmas to you all! My present to you is an unusually long chapter. In my opinion; it's the best one yet. Sit back and enjoy!**

**Also, a reminder that I do encourage reviews. Maybe it could be a positive remark, a hint of advice, or just in general what you thought of the chapter. Reviews do help quite a bit, so please think about leaving one. I hope to update this again sometime soon.**

**Edit: UPDATE: I've decided against a one-shot special. That's the bad news. Good news, however, is that I have an idea for a whole brand new story! Stay tuned for that; I hope to publish the first chapter in the next month or two. And don't worry, updates for this will be somewhat consistent as well. Just know that my second semester is starting soon, so updates could slow down quite a bit. You don't need to worry about that, however, because this story will not die until I do, and unless I did my calculations wrong, I ain't dying anytime soon!**

**Take care fellas, I'll see you next time!**

* * *

><p>"Through here," Jay pointed toward a turn in the hallway. As they all wound the corner, they stopped at the sight of a green chameleon a few feet down the hall. He dropped the papers in his hands as he noticed the team.<p>

"You?!" Leon screeched in disbelief. He reached for his weapon, but Harvey was quicker, and before Leon knew it he was on the ground flat on his stomach with a heavy arctic fox holding him down.

"Talk, lizard," Harvey growled, tightening his grip on Leon's arms.

"What could I say that you don't already know?" he stated sarcastically. Harvey twisted one of his arms, and Leon winced in pain. "Owowowow alright! Wolf is using this ship for an attack, but that's all I know!"

Harvey growled even louder, picking the chameleon up by his arms and violently thrusting him up against the wall. "Bullshit; you know more!" he bared his teeth as his muzzle contracted.

"I don't, I swear!" Leon cried. Harvey preformed a swift takedown and left the chameleon gasping. He pulled out a set of handcuffs; one end going on Leon's wrist, another wound around the door handle.

"Stick around; we'll be back." They all left Leon helpless against the door and continued down the hallway. Jay suddenly stopped at one of the doors at the end of the hall.

"Harv, wait," He started, holding up his wing and putting his beak up against the door. His eyes shot open as he heard a faint noise inside. "There's something in there, I can't get the door open."

Harvey walked to the door and pulled out a metal band from his pocket. The band went entirely around his hand, and he held it like it was a weapon. He flicked a switch on the band, and a bright green beam shot out of the bottom of his hand. The beam easily exceeded ten inches in length, and it glowed a bright emerald color as if he was holding part of a neon green street sign.

"What is that?!" Shaw gaped, dumfounded by the beam in Harvey's hand.

Harvey held it up to his chest. "Inverted plasma lance. These things can cut through almost anything."

_So, pretty much some Star Wars shit_, Shaw thought. Harvey held the blade like a combat knife; the green laser going out instead of towards him. He pounded the beam into the steel door, slowly melting through the heavy plates like a hot knife through butter. Once he got down to the bottom, he turned the beam off, and swiftly kicked the door in. Harvey turned the blade back on almost instantly, using it as a flashlight in the dark room. There was a figure sitting against the wall.

"Oh shit, Katt!" Jay gasped loudly, running over to the limp feline. She was sitting in a pool of her own blood, with a large incision in her midsection. Her clothes were tattered and almost nonexistent. He found the faint trace of a pulse on her neck. Jay quickly scooped her seemingly lifeless carcass out of the sea of red and ran for the door.

"I have to get her down to the surface; she doesn't have much left in her!" Jay squawked.

Harvey yelled back, "Take one of the medical transports!"

Jay disappeared around the corner with Katt. Harvey sighed, obviously worried. "Hang in there Katt…" he whispered, then glanced up to Shaw. "Let's get those comms back on!"

* * *

><p>Fox and Krystal were slowly and silently making their way inside the ship and towards the main bridge. They didn't know what was up ahead, so they took every precaution they could. Fox had his paw hovering around the blaster strapped to his leg as he reached for the door. Fox suddenly stopped as his transmitter rang.<p>

"You alright Jay? What's up?"

"I wish I could say yes," Jay started, out of breath. "We just came across Katt locked up in one of the rooms. She's hurt bad; I don't know if she'll make it."

"Damn," Fox sighed, "Are you-"

"Taking her back down to the hospital on the surface? Yes."

"Good boy," Fox grinned, "We're at the door to the bridge; we'll call you if anything happens. Good luck!"

"Thanks Fox; you too!"

Fox put his wrist down and spun to face Krystal. "Jay found Katt. She's alive, but apparently she's in really rough shape."

Fox could sense the rage in Krystal's mind. "Why would anyone do this?" she whispered bitterly; curling her fists.

"We're about to find out," Fox smirked, and opened the door to the bridge. At first glance, Fox noticed there was nobody inside. He took a few steps inside, and instantly reeled backwards as a giant fist came out from behind the wall. His second move, however, was not as successful, and he felt a huge paw crush the left side of his face. He instantly fell unconscious and dropped to the ground. Krystal unsheathed her staff and backed up a few feet, watching as a huge figure came off of the wall.

"Oh, sorry," Wolf chuckled sarcastically, "Was I a bit too rough?"

"Fuck you!" she bared her teeth, and tried to lunge at him. Miyu appeared from the shadows behind her right before her first swing and grabbed her; holding her in a chokehold.

"Not gonna happen, missy," the lynx laughed, tightening the hold around the vixen's neck. Krystal clawed and struggled as much as she could, but soon found herself slipping into darkness.

* * *

><p>Shaw was bent over a large pile of wires and computers, rearranging many of the circuits. Harvey growled as he put his transmitter down.<p>

"I can't get a hold of Fox. Did Star Wolf mess up our comms lines too?"

Shaw spoke loudly in the pile of wires, "Could be so. The jammers… ngh… I found in here can affect any radio transmissions."

"I'm still worried," Harvey paced back and forth, "I lost him when he said he was right up to the bridge. I have a feeling that he might be in trouble."

Shaw grunted loudly, and pulled out a large red cable. "Gotcha ya sunovabitch," he smirked. "Try calling now."

Harvey held up his transmitter to his ear. He was silent for a few seconds, then threw his arm down in frustration; punching the steel wall behind him in the process. "Dammit Fox, where are you?"

"Can you get a hold of Bill?"

"I can try," Harvey once again held up his arm. Once again, he fell silent, but his face lit up when the call went through. "Bill? We got rid of the jammers."

"Great," Bill sounded pleased. "Is the ship ok?"

"Not really. We've come across a few dozen dead soldiers. And to make matters worse, I can't get in contact with Fox. I lost him about eight minutes ago."

Bill grunted, "Our ship is getting closer to you, we'll board as soon as we can. Grey out."

Harvey put his hand down and picked up his carbine from the floor. "Come with me; we need to get to the bridge. I think Fox needs our help."

Once the two walked out of the room, the cruiser suddenly shook violently. Shaw spoke up, struggling to stay on his feet. "Harvey…" he said slowly, petrified.

"Bill's trying to override the ship." Harvey said, getting up off the ground. "We need to get to the bridge before he boards."

Harvey ran full speed and slid around the corner, almost falling to the ground in an attempt to take the corner as tightly as he could. He growled and instantly pulled out his green blade. However, he was not quick enough as a black figure grabbed him and speared him against the wall. Harvey slid down the wall, coughing and gasping for breath.

"Gotta work on those reflexes, Harv," Panther chuckled, but instantly froze when he glanced over and saw Shaw pointing a rifle at his head.

"Make another move and I'll drop you," Shaw said firmly, inching closer to the massive feline.

Panther slowly raised his hands. "Woah, easy… there..." His voice trailed off as he took a second look at the human. "Wait, you're… a human? What are you doing here?"

Shaw tightened his grip on the handle, "In case you didn't know, I was the human that landed on your planet."

Panther scoffed, "_My_ planet? Man, someone needs to educate you a bit." He glanced over Shaw's shoulder. "Here comes the professor."

Shaw quickly spun around and was welcomed by a boot to the stomach. He instantly dropped the rifle and crumpled to the ground. He glanced up and froze, petrified by the glowing eyepiece.

"I knew I would get a bit more outside interference," Wolf stated, standing over the bewildered human. The lupine towered over the human lying on the ground in pain. Even if Shaw was standing up, Wolf was about five inches taller than he was. His long, white mohawk was slicked back, and his two pointed grey ears were sticking straight up. Wolf picked up the rifle Shaw had dropped, and fired a few shots into the wall right behind Harvey, who just narrowly dodged it by rolling over.

Shaw, who suddenly had a burst of adrenaline, wrapped his legs around Wolf's and swiftly took him to the ground in a military style fashion. Panther shot forward and tried to grab Shaw, but Harvey blind sighted the panther; holding him against the wall by throwing punched and kicks at him.

Wolf broke Shaw's hold, and tried to throw a few punches, but Shaw blocked them all, and sent Wolf staggering back with a swift jab to his midsection. Shaw had been expertly trained in hand-to-hand combat during his time with the Air Force. It had been a few years, but Shaw smiled to himself as he was holding his own against the giant lupine. They both exchanged a few, hard blows before Wolf backed off, breathing heavily. Shaw already had a few bruises form on his face, and his nose was dripping crimson.

"Damn," Wolf panted, wiping blood from his muzzle. "Never would've thought a human could put up much of a fight." He suddenly reached forward with his claws bared and slashed Shaw, cutting through his jacket and skin. As Shaw doubled back, gripping his arm, Wolf lashed out with a right kick that caught him square on the side of the head, dropping him to the ground. He then staggered over to the rifle, and pointed it at Harvey, who was in a fist fight with Panther. Wolf pulled the trigger, and a blue beam ripped through Harvey's leg. He yelped and crouched down, which gave Panther the perfect opportunity to drop the fox with a huge right hook. Panther smiled as he glanced over at the lupine, still with the rifle pointed at Harvey's head.

"Thanks." He glanced at his watch, "We need to get out of here; the CDF is trying to reclaim this ship."

Wolf nodded, lowered his weapon, and walked over to Harvey. He grabbed a fistful of Harvey's wet hair and whispered in his ear, "Don't worry about your boss, pup. We'll take good care of him." He laughed as he threw him down. He gave the vulpine a cheap shot right to the stomach with the heel of his boot as he quickly spun around and sprinted down the hall. A few moments later, Shaw could hear the sound of a few jets taking off. Clutching his cut arm, he staggered over to Harvey, who was writhing in pain.

"Harv," Shaw grunted faintly, getting the white vulpine's attention. Blood was flowing out of the wound in his left leg, and he had numerous cuts on his face; turning his once pure white coat a deep shade of red. Shaw struggled to get him to his feet.

"Ah," Harvey cried, "My… I can't…"

"Easy bud," Shaw put Harvey's arm over his neck. "You'll be ok. Stay with me."

A heavily equipped, dark furred soldier popped around the corner and ran down the hall towards the two. He cursed as he threw down his weapon; grabbing Harvey's other arm.

"Damn Harv, I'm sorry," the pit-bull said, "I tried to get here sooner."

Harvey struggled to speak. "Bill… they…" he started, testing his pain threshold.

"What?" Bill questioned. Harvey winced in pain as he turned his head.

"They have Fox…"


	17. Captivity

**A/N:**** If I haven't said it before, I'll say it now. I really do appreciate the positive feedback for this story. It really motivates me to keep churning out chapters. I do have a backlog of chapters I've completed; all I need to do is make some minor grammatical corrections, and possibly some plot clarifications, and they'll be uploaded when I deem necessary. (I could leave you in suspense for a month or two if I wanted to... but I'm not gonna cause I'm not THAT mean...)**

**Also: A new story will be posted on my page very soon! If you enjoy Recon, you'll probably enjoy this new one even more. I'm just gonna put this statement out now, and most likely add it to the new story as well: It may take a while to completely comprehend the first part of the first chapter. Don't worry though, I believe this story is interesting enough to hook you on the first chapter.**

**Updates for Recon will not slow just because a new story will be published and most likely take a majority of my time. I intend to work on both stories as much as I can, so that neither story gets neglected. I may update one at a time, or maybe even both on a good day. Just know neither story will die until I do.**

**You guys have a good one, and I hope you enjoy. (psst, notice how I didn't remind you for the umpteenth time to leave a review. Oh, wait, dammit I just did. Fack.)**

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><p>Fox slowly opened his eyes to a dimly lit room. The room was bitterly cold, and he could hear the wind pounding against the framework. He struggled to move his head to take in his surroundings. The room was completely empty except for another chair in the other corner of the room, which he quickly realized that Krystal was bound down to the chair with her head dangling. He tried to escape his own bonds, but he felt significantly weaker and the side of his face was throbbing. A thin lynx walked in the room, gripping a combat knife behind her back.<p>

"Good morning, Foxie," Miyu smirked, "Long time, no see."

Fox's eyes shot open, "Miyu? What are you doing here?"

"My job," Miyu stated sarcastically. "Unlike you, Wolf actually appreciates what I do for him and his team."

"You're seriously working with a criminal?" Fox asked in disbelief.

"Woah," Miyu grinned, holding her paw up. "_Criminal_ is such a strong word… I prefer to think of him as… misunderstood."

"Misunderstood my ass!" Fox snapped. "He was paid by Andross to kill me and my team. Even after Andross was long gone, he still had it out for me! He's in it for revenge, Miyu, not for the money!"

"I necessarily don't agree with all of that," Miyu gave him a cold smile, "I do, however, agree with the fact that he wants your blood spilled." She stepped over and revealed the long blade, bringing it close to Fox's neck. Fox froze instantly as he felt the cold metal right over his throat.

"No!" Krystal shrieked, startling Miyu. She giggled as she walked over to her, grinning maliciously.

"Ah, the other McCloud is awake." She did the same thing as she did to Fox, bringing the blade close to her face. "Aww, does the widdle vixen want to go first?" she giggled childishly, twirling Krystal's dark blue hair in her claws. Krystal completely froze in a state of pure terror as the dim light reflected off of the blade.

"You lay one paw on her and I will personally kill you myself," Fox bared his canine teeth.

"Alright," Miyu backed up looked at Fox, "Then _you're_ first." She reversed her grip on the blade and hurled it towards Fox. Fox instantly activated his reflector and the knife bounced right off. She narrowly dodged the knife as it rocketed back towards her. Miyu pulled it out of the wall and slowly walked towards the orange vulpine; sharpening the blade with her claws. As the lynx approached him, Fox noticed the sadistic and malicious smile creased on the lynx's face, and the pure animosity emanating from her like an aura. Fox found his opportunity and suddenly flipped over his chair, the leg of it slamming into Miyu's stomach. The chair broke almost instantly, and Fox was able to escape; quickly standing up in front of Krystal. Miyu grunted as she stood up, the knife still in her hand.

"Not bad McCloud," she smirked, letting her leg slide a few inches behind her. She fell close to the ground, keeping both arms in front of her and holding the knife backwards in her right paw. "You want to dance? _Let's dance_."

The two Cornerians started slowly pacing around the room. Fox never broke his death stare on the lynx, and Miyu sometimes giggled out loud as she felt the sharp knife in her paw. Miyu suddenly leapt towards Fox, but the vulpine rolled under her high attack. He quickly countered and sent Miyu sprawling with a hard forearm. Miyu grunted and lunged at Fox with the knife again, but was again unsuccessful as Fox grabbed her wrist. Fox tried to pry the knife from her hand, but she quickly spun around and swept Fox down with her tail. Miyu instantly jumped on the downed vulpine and tried to bring the knife close to his face.

"Fox!" Krystal shouted, trying to incite her husband's fighting spirit.

Fox fought with all of his strength, but could not muster enough to fight with the lynx. Miyu was much stronger that he was at that moment. He felt a wave of panic wash over him as he realized the muscles in his arms were igniting. The excruciating pain coming from Fox's blazing muscles caused the vulpine to yelp softly. The long, cold blade inched ever so closer to him, and he closed his eyes as his arms buckled.


	18. Blizzard

**A/N: How'd you guys like that huge cliffhanger ending of the last chapter? Hahaha I can be really evil sometimes. Anyway, new chapter. Wheee**

**Also, I did some huge revisions with the beginning. If you guys want to reread the beginning, go right ahead. Nobody is stopping you. ;)**

**Do you guys like the idea of me updating at least once a week? I can do that, only if the response is positive. I can update two stories at the same time, being this and First Contact. It's not hard at all, but if other things come up, updates could slow down (I.E: school, lack of inspiration, creativity, effort, ect...). **

**You guys have a good one, and I'll see you next time. Hope you enjoy!**

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><p>Bill and Shaw helped Harvey into the hospital. The receptionist sighed in disbelief.<p>

"Another one?" She questioned, getting up and investigating Harvey. "That's the third one this week!"

"Sorry," Shaw smiled. "They're always itching to get in a fight."

The nurse smiled, "At least he doesn't look as bad as the other two did. Bring him upstairs; I can help him."

Bill gently helped Harvey onto the bed. He grimaced as the nurse unwound the bandage around his leg.

"Thanks you two; I'll take it from here," the nurse put on a set of gloves and began to work on Harvey. Bill and Shaw stepped out in the hall.

"Well," the pit-bull sighed, looking at Shaw. "Now that all that is taken care of, I'd like to give a proper introduction to myself," He stuck out his paw. "Name's Bill Grey, CDF Commander."

Shaw accepted the gloved paw. "Darren Shaw."

Bill cut him off, "Oh, I know who you are. You're the human that forced us to come here."

Shaw looked puzzled, "I didn't request for the backup from you guys. I was content with just the Star Fox team. You didn't have to send the entire Cornerian Army."

Bill raised an eyebrow, "Then why did Pepper allow Katt to come here?" He didn't allow him to answer as he suddenly gasped. "Katt! Where is she?"

Shaw walked down the hall and towards a room nestled in the corner of the building. Jay and Madison were sitting on the couch next to the room. Falco was standing up against the wall with a set of crutches, and his left leg was heavily protected. Falco obviously looked distraught.

The avian's face instantly lit up, "Oh thank god you guys are alright."

Bill chuckled, "When did you start caring for people other than yourself?" he joked, nudging his arm. He looked at the door, "How is she?"

Jay sighed and stood up, walking to the door. "She's critical; she's lost well over half of her blood, and the doctor said she had been raped."

Bill was absolutely furious. He glanced down and spoke faintly, trying not to get overwhelmed with rage. "Those assholes are going to pay. First Katt, and who knows what they're doing to Fox and Krystal."

Madison's jaw dropped, "They took them?!" she shouted.

Shaw nodded slowly. "There was nothing we could do. Harv and I got into a fistfight with Wolf and Panther. He was just too strong; he took me down, and he shot Harvey."

"WHAT?!" Madison shrieked. The scream was on par with the sound of glass breaking. Shaw motioned the vixen to follow as he led her to Harvey's room. He was awake, and his leg had been patched up. He still had spots colored crimson all over his face, and his long hair was a tangled mess with blood still infused in it.

Tears welled in Madison's eyes, "Harvey…" she whispered, trying not to break down. Harvey noticed the red vixen enter and smiled.

"Hi," the arctic fox laughed faintly, "I'm fine, don't worry."

"They fix you up alright?" Shaw asked.

"All good," Harvey stretched his arms, "Still hurts like a bitch though."

"Anything broken or…?"

"Nope. I'm clear to go as soon as they give me the ok."

"Good," Shaw glanced out the doorway, "I'm gonna check in with the guys. Feel better soon Harv."

Shaw walked all the way down the hallway and back to around Katt's room. Falco hopped over to the door as Shaw approached. Shaw kept his laughter to himself as he watched the falcon struggle with the crutches.

"How's Harv?" he asked.

"He's alright. Better than you, crutchy," Shaw smirked.

Falco smacked his leg with his crutch. "You wanna check in with Katt? Bill and Jay are already in there."

Shaw nodded, and stepped in the dimly lit room. Katt was in the bed, hooked up to several machines, and had countless tubes in her arms. There was a massive patch on her midsection. She was unconscious, but still breathing.

Jay was stroking her head. "I'm glad we got there when we did. She'd be in a body bag if we got there any later."

Bill nodded, "It just doesn't make sense… How did Star Wolf take over their cruiser that fast?"

Shaw spoke up, startling the two. "I noticed those red fighters had a cloaking device on the underside. Maybe they just snuck in before you went warp-speed."

Bill nodded slowly, then turned his head to Shaw. "Speaking of the ship's underside, we placed a tracker on the Wolfen fighters before they took off. I bet we could get a location on where Fox ended up. You wanna join me in a rescue?"

Shaw nodded, and looked to Jay. He was already putting his grey flight jacket on.

"I'm coming with. I need to serve a hot dish of payback."

Bill smiled, "Follow me; we can take one of the CDF's fighters."

Falco put his wing on Bill's shoulder as he reached for the door. "Take care out there."

"I'll do my best," Bill responded, and walked out of the room.

#####

"We're closing in on their last known location." Bill stated, flying over an icy, snowed-over forest. Jay shivered in his seat.

"Why did they have to go north?" Jay complained. "Of all the places they could have gone, and they chose to go north. I can't stand the cold. I hated when I was stationed on Fichina."

Bill brought the small cruiser down in a narrow clearing in the trees. He climbed out, and instantly pulled a scarf over his muzzle.

"That way," Bill yelled over the harsh wind. Snow was blowing from the trees and pelting the team.

"Stay close," Shaw stated. "It's easy to get lost in a blizzard." They trudged through the snowy forest for a good ten minutes before Bill pulled out a radar.

"Just over that hill," Bill shouted, and struggled to climb the icy hill. Once they got to the top, they gazed at a wide open clearing in the forest. Four ships were docked near a frozen river, and a large metal building overlooked the river. As they inched closer to the building, they heard an ear-splitting scream emanate from the iron walls. The scream reverberated through the forest and through the rescuers' minds.

"Krystal!" Bill shouted, and made a break for the main door.


	19. Round Two

**A/N: OK, I promise I'm done leaving you in suspense for so long... maybe... ;)**

**Anyway, new chapter up! I'll try to crank these next chapters out every Monday. If not, then as soon as I actually can. I'm shooting for weekly updates though, cause that seems like a long enough time for me to work on upcoming chapters. I'll announce on my profile if there is a delay for whatever reason, so don't fret. I promise I won't fall off the face of the planet and leave you guys in the dark for weeks, even months on end. I'll keep in contact with you guys as much as possible!**

**You guys have a good one, and I'll see you next time!**

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><p>Bill harshly kicked the heavy metal door in and rushed inside with his weapon raised. Shaw and Jay closely followed, each with a weapon of their own. Bill used the stock of his rifle and crushed the lock on the door at the end of the hallway. As he opened it, chills ran down his spine.<p>

Fox was kneeling on one leg, breathing heavily. Blood was dripping through his hand that he had over the left side of his chest; creating a small puddle, and he had a massive welt on the left side of his face. There was another figure lying on the floor motionless on the other side of the room. Krystal was standing behind Fox, tears streaming from her eyes.

Fox looked up at the team and grinned faintly. "Look who _finally_ decided to show up."

Jay instantly threw down his weapon and knelt down to Fox. "What happened?" he questioned, putting his hand over Fox's. Fox groaned in pain as Jay helped apply more pressure to Fox's wound. Blood continued to pour out, even though there were two sets of hands over the wound.

"_She_ happened," Fox grunted, turning his nose to Miyu, who was still lying on the floor unresponsive. Jay helped Fox to his feet and started to walk him out. Bill stepped over to Krystal.

"You ok?" Bill asked, putting his arm around her. She was shivering in the sub-zero temperature.

"I…" Krystal stuttered, struggling to speak. "She… She had us by the neck… It…"

Bill cut her off, "It's fine; you're ok now. We need to get Fox to the hospital before he bleeds out."

Krystal started to walk through the door, but stopped in the doorway, putting her hand up to her head. "Something's… not right…" she whispered faintly. She suddenly gasped and yelled out the door.

"Jay! Get out of there!"

Jay spun around, only to be greeted by Panther's forearm. He pinned Jay to the wall by his neck, and Fox buckled and fell to the floor due to his condition. Jay was gasping and choking for air, with a death drip on Panther's wrist as he slowly pushed the cardinal up the wall. Shaw attempted to break Panther's grip, but was tackled by Wolf, who rammed his spine up against the steel wall.

Bill instantly pulled out his transmitter. "Transport 2, we need backup; due north of your current position. Get here, NOW!" he barked, and ran towards the fight. He went after Panther, who was on the verge of suffocating Jay. He threw a wicked right hook that sent Panther staggering back, and Jay fell to the floor gasping for breath.

"Ah, it's been a while, Bill." Panther chuckled, cracking his neck. "I was instructed not to get involved with Cornerian military personnel, but I guess I could make an exception just this one time." Panther cracked his knuckles and pounced at Bill, pinning the pit-bull up against the wall.

Shaw, meanwhile, had broken Wolf's hold, and was throwing punches at the massive lupine. Most of his punches found their mark, and Wolf staggered back, violently shaking his head. Shaw took this opportunity and jumped up; ramming his knee into Wolf's muzzle. Wolf yelped as he fell backwards, covering his face.

"You little bitch," Wolf bared his teeth. Many bruises had already formed, and some had split open, staining his fur with red. He pulled out a small handgun and pointed it at Shaw. He attempted to pull the trigger, but Krystal snuck up behind him and chopped the gun out of his hand him with a swift swing from her staff. She spun around, gaining momentum, and blasted Wolf in the stomach as she twirled the staff in her paw. Wolf was sent careening backwards and slammed into the iron wall, before buckling and falling face first. Shaw watched as the tip of the staff glowed a bright orange, and Krystal forcefully impaled the floor; causing a massive shockwave and sending everyone around her sprawling to the ground. She quickly took this opportunity to run and pick up Fox, and she half-carried the wounded vulpine out the door and into the snow.

"HOLD FIRE!" a black vulpine soldier yelled at the sight of the two foxes. He was surrounded by an entire squadron of Cornerian ground specialists; each of which had a large rifle pointed towards the door. The soldier quickly rushed over to the limping vulpine.

"Come on, Fox," he grunted, grabbing his arm. "Hang in there bud; you'll be fine." The soldier handed him off to two other Cornerian soldiers, who quickly walked Fox inside a massive frigate. He turned around and raised his weapon as three other figures left the building.

"Come on guys!" Krystal shouted as she recognized the three bodies. She gently pushed the barrel of the soldier's gun down as they inched closer. "They're fine. The rest of the people in there are not," she explained to the soldier.

He nodded, then turned to the rest of the soldiers. "Group three, engage!" he barked, and five heavily equipped Cornerians rushed into the building. A long period of gunfire was heard echoing throughout the iron prison moments afterward.

The commander trotted over to another soldier. "Keep a lookout; make sure things don't go wrong. I'm getting Star Fox out of here."

The soldier acknowledged, and inched his group closer to the doors of the small building. The commander walked over to the Star Fox team, who were huddled around the base of the Destroyer.

"We have coordinates on the place the rest of your team is at," The dark silver fox said firmly. He had an eastern Cornerian accent, which Shaw recognized to be strikingly Finnish. He was about Shaw's height, and his fur was pure black and neatly trimmed, except for a black mullet that stuck out of his red winter hat. Two long, pointy ears shot out the hat, and a bit of black fur escaped through the slits. He had a suit on that resembled the flight suit that most of the Star Fox team wore, but his was a royal blue color, and he had a thick, dark grey coat on over it. A long black tail shot out of his pants and ended just below his knee, and the tip of it had a subtle silver tinge. Everything about this soldier was intimidating, except for his pale green eyes that resembled emeralds. His eyes surprised the team, because they were significantly brighter that the rest of his body.

"Would you please take us back there?" Jay asked. The soldier nodded and replied.

"Of course," he paused for a few seconds. "Fox is alive. Our doctors on board the Destroyer are working on him as we speak."

Krystal breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you."

"You guys seem cold," the commander laughed, looking at the shivering group. "Come inside; we have things to discuss." The team followed the vulpine into the Destroyer and the door slowly shut behind them.

#####

The team followed the commander into a medium sized room in the heart of the cruiser. There were multiple couches and tables scattered around the room, and there was a corner of the room that had places for serving meals. The black silver fox stripped of his grey jacket, still with the red winter hat on, and sat down on one of the couches.

"You fellas doing alright?" he smiled, leaning back in the couch.

"Well, we could be better," Bill sighed, plopping down on the couch next to the soldier. Bill glanced over at him with his head tilted. _Where have I seen him before?_

"Oh," the soldier shot forward, "I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Ralph Hendricks. If you haven't deduced already, I'm obviously a CDF commander, and the only remaining Cornerian Elite member active."

Bill's jaw dropped. "I knew I've seen you before somewhere!"

"What's the Cornerian Elite?" Krystal asked, perplexed.

"I'll give you a brief rundown," Ralph crossed his arms, "The Cornerian Elite was a highly respected and talented offshoot of the CDF. We weren't mercenaries; we worked with the CDF directly. I remember that Fox's father, James, was a part of it before I was asked to join. Anyway, we consisted of the best pilots and combat specialists in the galaxy before James started Star Fox. During the Lylat Wars, we were forgotten, and basically became nonexistent. Later, there…" he sighed loudly, "was a battle during the war with the Aparoids that our team got ambushed…" Ralph trailed off and glanced down. He returned to speaking, but with a much softer voice. "I was the only survivor. Seven of my men were killed…"

"Wow… I'm sorry for that terrible loss. You're very lucky to be standing here now," Bill stated seriously, placing his paw on the vulpine's shoulder.

Jay sat up, "I actually remember flying with him during a training exercise in the academy. He was a special guest for the day, and I was told that I was as good, if not better than him."

Ralph stood up and walked to the cardinal. "I think I remember you… Falkner, right?" Jay nodded. "I must say, I agree with whoever said that to you. You were phenomenal in handling your fighter."

"Wow," Jay grabbed at the back of his neck, "Thanks."

Ralph smiled and playfully punched his arm. He walked over to the human; his pale green eyes staring at him. "Ah, you fellas have the human…" He stuck out his arm, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Shaw."

Shaw hesitantly accepted his paw, which was surprisingly warm considering they just came from a frozen tundra. Shaw quickly warmed up to the soldier; considering he had potentially saved their lives.

"So Ralph," Bill started, shifting his position on the couch. "If you were part of the Cornerian Elite, and you had authority on this cruiser, why weren't you commanding the entire transport? I had command on my Destroyer, but I thought you would have been the chief commanding officer."

Ralph shrugged, "Seems they gave that authority to someone else."

"And that 'someone else' was attacked, raped, and almost killed," Bill stated, lowering his head.

"Katt? She…" Ralph trailed off and had to sit back down. He felt a nauseous feeling deep in his stomach, and put his paw over his face. "Star Wolf attacked that Destroyer, right?" Bill nodded. Ralph continued on, "How many did those assholes kill on that transport?"

"Twenty two confirmed fatalities."

"Any of your team get killed there?"

Jay slowly shook his head. "Only some serious injuries. With Fox being a new addition to this list, there are two other Star Fox members requiring medical treatment." Ralph shook his head in disbelief as Jay continued, "We all know Katt is still in critical condition after that attack. Our other member, Harvey Sheppard, got shot by Wolf on that Destroyer a few hours ago, and Falco accidently got shot down because of a misfire by the U.S. Military."

"I remember Falco," Ralph reminisced, "Is he alright?"

"He got pretty messed up in that crash, but he's alive. He's got a few broken bones and scars."

"We're over the hospital now; you want to pay a visit?" Bill interrupted, looking at a small device in his paw.

Ralph nodded, "I want to see if they still recognize me," he laughed.

#####

Shaw was the first one to walk into Falco's room. He was lying in bed, only wearing a pair of loose fitting sweatpants. Harvey was sitting in the corner with a light knee brace wrapped around his leg. Madison jumped up at the sight of Shaw.

"Oh thank god you guys are alright," she sighed.

Shaw let his head fall. "Most of us are…"

Madison tilted her head. "What do-"

"Fox got stabbed, and he was bleeding badly before we got there. Luckily, we got a bit of help from the CDF."

"Is he-"

"He's alive. No different than Harvey's injury; he just needed a bit of patching up. The hospital is still working with him though; due to the fact that he was on the verge of bleeding out."

Falco, meanwhile, had sat up and was looking at the black vulpine in the doorway with his eyes wide open. "Holy shit; that you, Ralph?"

Ralph stepped in the room, chuckling. "Hey little birdy, It's been a while."

"No shit. How you been doing?" Falco asked cheerfully, smacking Ralph's paw with his wing.

Ralph grunted. "Not bad… better than you, I presume?"

Falco glanced at his injured leg. "Earth is one hell of a place."

Shaw laughed. "Oh, you have no idea."

Falco grinned, then turned back to Ralph, who was sitting at the foot of his bed. "What brings you here, Hendricks?"

"I was the commander of transport 2."

"Ah, getting back into combat I see?"

Ralph shook his head. "Just this one time. I still haven't fully recovered from the Aparoid ambush."

Falco looked up at the ceiling and murmured faintly, "I remember that…" He started to get off the bed and reached for his crutches. "Where's Fox at?"

Ralph led him down the hall to another hospital room. Fox was laying on the bed, only wearing his tattered and blood stained flight pants. He grinned as Falco hopped into the room.

"I'm pitiful, I know," Fox grimaced, shifting to one side. His midsection still felt as if it was on fire, but at least he wasn't staining his fur with his blood anymore. Falco patted Fox's bruised head as he sat down on his bed.

"What happened?"

"You remember Miyu?" Fox sighed, the image of the lynx holding a knife up to his wife's throat still haunting him.

Falco's eyes shot open. "Was she with Star Wolf?"

"Apparently Wolf offered her a position, and she accepted. Wolf captured me and Krystal, and Miyu was the one that was trying to kill the both of us."

"I see she partially succeeded." Falco chuckled, looking at the bandage around Fox's stomach.

Silence fell over the room. Fox suddenly sighed and looked toward the injured avian. "How did our team end up so battered and crippled in such a short amount of time?"

Falco glanced out the window. "That's what happens in war… We just weren't prepared enough."

Ralph stuck his head through the doorway. "Well Fox, you're in luck," he started, inching closer to Fox with each word. He sighed as he looked down at him. "The Cornerian Destroyers are going to remain in orbit around earth for quite a while. I can tell that you guys are struggling, and being the generous person I am," he smiled, "I would like to assist you guys. You know, be a part of your crew… just until this bizarre war ends."

Fox stared at him in disbelief. "You... You want to join Star Fox?"

"As long as you and your crew are ok with it," he smirked.

Fox grunted as he held out his arm towards the vulpine. "I don't think anyone will disagree. Welcome aboard!"

Ralph accepted his paw, grinning happily. He glanced out the window for a few seconds, then focused back on Fox. "When do I start?" he asked intently.

Fox nodded at Falco, who hopped over to Fox's bag. He pulled out something metal, and hopped back over to Ralph. Falco placed a metal badge in Ralph's paw, and he gazed at the expertly crafted Star Fox logo imprinted on the silver piece. Ralph looked toward Fox, who was smiling at him.

"Right now."

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><p><strong>I'm not done with you guys just yet! I just want to include a bit of advertisement for the other story on my profile that I've been working on. If you guys like this one so far, You'll like this one better! Also, I love the feedback I've been getting so far, and I would love if this good trend continued. So please, leave a review or something if you liked it. If you're interested on how the rest of the story goes, go ahead and give it a follow, because I'll try to update this as much as possible! Ok, now I'm done...<strong>

**You guys have a good one!**


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